San Bernardino -- Hillwood and the Inland Valley Development Agency celebrate 15 years of success through their public-private partnership, AllianceCalifornia.
In November 2002, Hillwood, a Perot Company, was named as Master Developer of land surrounding the former Norton Air Force Base and the joint venture was branded as AllianceCalifornia. On the site of the former Norton Air Force Base, the reuse area includes the land adjacent to the San Bernardino International Airport which is home to Fortune 100 and 500 firms, as well as international and local businesses that have invested and continued to invest in growing their operations.
The originally stated goals of this partnership were threefold: 1) Change the landscape, 2) Increase the tax base, and 3) Bring jobs back to the former Base and the community at large. As of December 2017, the originally stated goals have exceeded expectations.
John Magness, Senior Vice President/Market Leader – West Region for Hillwood, has been with the AllianceCalifornia Partnership since its inception. Over the last sixteen years, Mr. Magness has managed and developed AllianceCalifornia into a modern multimodal industrial park with Kohl’s, Mattel, Stater Bros., Pactiv, Pep Boys and Amazon as anchor tenants. “Hillwood is proud of the success of AllianceCalifornia and is excited to continue its most successful and longest public-private partnership with the IVDA,” said Mr. Magness.
Goal 1: Change the Landscape.
Achieving this goal meant the abatement or demolition of any 1940s era building surrounding the former Norton Air Force Base. Since 2002, over 4.2 MSF have been demolished or abated for re-use and over 14 MSF of new development has been completed to date with an additional 2.3 MSF planned.
Goal 2: Increase the Tax Base
The new development at AllianceCalifornia has allowed a number of businesses to establish a significant presence in San Bernardino, CA. AllianceCalifornia has attracted many Fortune 100 and 500 companies that have made significant investments in locating to and continuing business operations in the Inland Empire. The end result has been a complete replacement of over 10,780 jobs, exceeding those lost during the base reassignment and an $850 million increase to the local tax base. Additionally, the firms that have established businesses in AllianceCalifornia have contributed $939 MILLION in total private investment.
Goal 3: Economic Impact
The total economic impact of AllianceCalifornia has yielded over $2.3 BILLION dollars for the City of San Bernardino. Fee revenues over and above normal taxes have been paid to the City and direct payments to City schools have exceeded normal school taxes.
IVDA Co-Chairperson and 5th District San Bernardino County Supervisor, Josie Gonzales remarked, “AllianceCalifornia has helped transform the former Norton Air Force Base into a thriving logistics center—a feat that could not have been achieved were it not for the strong public-private partnership forged between Hillwood and IVDA. To meet, and exceed, the goals of this collaboration is a remarkable accomplishment.”
San Bernardino International Airport has now attained the #4 designation in the top 10 employers in the IVDA area, just behind Amazon, Stater Bros. Markets, and Kohl’s Department Stores. AllianceCalifornia has yielded great success for the region and will continue to develop property around the San Bernardino International Airport as well as serve as an economic catalyst for the region.