City Council Gives Final Approval to Menifee Lakes Plaza

This view looking west from Antelope Road toward Interstate 215 shows the land that will be occupied by Menifee Lakes Plaza.

The Menifee City Council made the Menifee Lakes Plaza proposal a reality Wednesday night, approving a plot plan previously approved by the Planning Commission and approving a minor zoning change and environmental impact report to accommodate the project.

The plaza will be located on the north side of Newport Road between Antelope Road and Interstate 215, where grading work has already begun. Plans call for a hotel -- tenant to be determined -- as well as an LA Fitness gym, gas station and food establishments. The project approved Wednesday night included minor revisions in the size and exact location of LA Fitness, which will now be located at the back of the property, adjacent to the freeway.

There was some discussion about the content of a large graphic included in the most recent architectural rendering of the side of LA Fitness facing the freeway. The tentative graphic, showing a woman riding an exercise bike, is not finalized and selection of the final content was not made a condition of project approval.

A change suggested by planning commissioners and approved by the city council was the addition of shading structures over all outdoor seating areas. The project includes more than 800 parking spaces and seating areas outside the gym and proposed food establishments.

Although locations of the structures has been determined, only the one tenant is signed and there is no estimated time of completion for the project.