Written by Mark Petix, Photos by Gabriel Luis Acosta
Step by step, project by project, even pothole by pothole, Riverside's La Sierra neighborhood is slowly coming into its own.
The western edge of the city has been the city's stepchild since it was annexed into Riverside in 1964. It also was Riverside's south forty, a rural farming area where the junk and debris of a city came to stay.
"It was kind of like the dumping ground for the city," said Councilman Steve Adams, whose district includes most of La Sierra.
In the early years, planning was inconsistent at best, with a mix of residential, commercial and light industrial.
"La Sierra is a virtual patchwork of land uses," the city's neighborhoods Web site says, "with a ring of commercial and office uses surrounding a medium-density residential area." It also had a disproportionately high number of high-density apartment complexes.
Adams said city has long worked to create a balance in the neighborhood.
Today, La Sierra has a strong foundation upon which to build. For example, the Galleria at Tyler, which began life as Tyler Mall in 1970, keeps growing.
The latest expansion of the Galleria, which is in Councilwoman Nancy Hart's district, added two "life-style villages" that include a 16-screen movie theater, a Yard House and Elephant Bar, The Cheesecake Factory and PF Chang's China Bistro.
With the city's flagship Nordstroms and Macy's, the Galleria is key to both La Sierra and the city as a whole.
And the ambitious RiverWalk master plan has breathed new life into La Sierra, paving the way for upscale housing and the million-square-foot Turner RiverWalk office, research and development and retail center. With its walking trails and flowing water, it is one of Mayor Ron Loveridge's favorite spots to take visitors interested in the changing face of Riverside.
But less picturesque reminders of La Sierra's transformation from subsistence farming to an uneasy mix of retail and housing remain. The most visible example is Five Points, the unwieldy and inexplicable intersection of five streets.
This commercial zone is tired, a collection of used car lots and ethnic markets that no longer fits the city's ambitious Riverside Renaissance goals.
Adams says it's time for a serious change at Five Points, and he is among those who look to the city's University Village area for inspiration.
Five Points is part of a new redevelopment project and Adams hopes the area can be revitalized to attract students from nearby La Sierra University, just as students from UC Riverside spend time in the restaurants and shops at University Village.
There is much work still to be done.
Adams said the La Sierra neighborhood was under-funded for years, and he's pushed for city improvements.
A retired Riverside SWAT officer, he's also made code enforcement a priority, an effort that has taken on new importance because foreclosures can quickly become neglected eyesores.
Adams likes the changes he sees, including a new senior center, new ballfields and two new tot lots.
He says it's La Sierra's turn to shine, and he plans to keep the pressure on.
"It's been ignored and overlooked since the beginning," he said. "It's the gateway to Riverside, and it will not be overlooked again.", waterwise landscaping, weather-based irrigation, conservation tips, water leak calculator, shower calculator, California-friendly plants, water supply and quality, water projects and water statistics.
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