Riverside Council Approves 2 New Warehouses, Developers Promise Over $1M In Donations

Riverside officials cleared the way Tuesday for a real estate firm to build two new warehouses inside of its industrial sector in exchange for more than $1 million in donations to the city and local higher education institutions.

“It’s going to bring jobs, bring in public art [and] workforce opportunities for our city,” Councilmember Sean Mill said. “This project doesn’t just transform this site, they’re going to transform that whole neighborhood.”

The Riverside City Council voted unanimously at the March 24 meeting to approve the environmental impact report for the construction of two 99,000 square foot warehouses proposed by real estate firm Staley Point Capital. Councilmember Philip Falcone was absent. 

The approval was the final hurdle the real estate firm needed to clear before it could begin construction. The developer plans to build the two warehouses on two lots located at the intersection of Kansas and Massachusetts avenues, according to Senior Planner Candice Assadzadeh. Before construction can begin, however, the firm first needs to demolish a building on the site currently used by a composite manufacturing company. 

As part of a deal made with the city, the developers also agreed to donate about $1.35 million toward city art initiatives and local higher education institutions. This included a $250,000 donation to a nearby homeless shelter, a $200,000 public art fee to be used at the city’s discretion and a $50,000 donation to University of California, Riverside’s student art program. The firm also agreed to “pursue using” local union labor for the project’s construction, which city staff said would be about 210 jobs.  

“If you go into this neighborhood and community, it’s very gray,” Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes said. “I really would love us to see how we could change the appearance of the neighborhood and community in that space that we’re working to build, so I think that’s a great asset.”

Kevin Staley, a founder for the real estate firm, told the city’s planning commission during its January 29 meeting that he planned to work with the city to find a green tech or biotech business to lease the spaces once built. That goal follows the city’s long-term economic strategy of attracting manufacturing companies to fill its warehouses rather than logistics companies. 

The project was also exempt from Assembly Bill 98 and the city’s recently-updated zoning codes, Assadzadeh told the council, as the firm submitted the proposal before the 2024 state law passed. That law, which went into effect at the start of this year, establishes new statewide warehouse development standards and requires local governments to set trucking routes that minimize impacts to residents. 

Mike McCarthy, the vice chair with Riverside Neighbors Opposing Warehouses, said the organization had been against the project since it was first submitted to the city, believing it would not provide high-quality jobs the city previously promised the area would be used for, while also increasing pollution and traffic within the city.

“It’s sad that you’re walking back the innovation district, which, within five years, that’s supposed to be attracting high tech jobs,” he said. “And here we are, putting in more warehouses.”

The demolition of the current building is set to begin later this year, according to the environmental impact report, with the warehouse construction scheduled to finish by mid-2027.