City approves funds to purchase former Kings Inn site

An aerial view shows the vacant property just west of the 215 Freeway and south of the Cherry Hills Plaza.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Editor's note: Story has been updated with the correction that funding comes from Developer Impact Fees.

The former site of an iconic structure in the history of the Sun City community may one day be an expanded maintenance yard for the City of Menifee.

The Menifee City Council on Jan. 20 approved a purchase and sale agreement between the City of Menifee and Sun City Investments, LLC for the City to acquire a vacant 5.76-acre parcel on the southwest corner of Cherry Hills Boulevard and Bradley Road.

Longtime residents will remember that as the site of the Kings Inn, a motor inn and restaurant that opened in 1962 in the early days of the planned retirement community of Sun City. Developer Del Webb offered special rates to visitors who were checking out the new community. It was also a popular gathering spot for locals until it burned down in 1978.

The City already owns an adjacent 2-acre parcel which now houses the new Fire Station 7, which opened in January 2018 on the southeast corner of the original parcel. After a search for additional land to purchase for City use, City Manager Armando Villa said the former Kings Inn property was the best available option. The purchase price approved by the City Council is $2 million.

“We have been identifying our short-term and long-term needs,” Villa said. “We wanted to identify what land would be available to buy and bank for future use. This property has the infrastructure in place – water, sewer, electric, gas. The decision was to bank that for our future needs before it’s too late. When we’re ready to build a facility, we will have the land.”

Villa said the current City maintenance yard, located on Bradley Road just north of McCall Boulevard near the 215 Freeway bridge, has already become too small for the City’s needs. It was formerly Fire Station 7 and has limited space for city trucks, road equipment and other materials.

“On the new property, we can actually build a maintenance and operations center some time in the future,” Villa said.

Funds from the project will come from Developer Impact Fees (DIF), which are paid by developers to compensate the City for their share of development of the City. Villa said the City inherited $2.5 million in DIF fees from Riverside County when it incorporated. Since then, the City has been receiving DIF funds from developers for use in a variety of categories, including road improvements, police and fire departments, and public facilities.

According to Villa, the DIF program requires that funds be spent within five years, which is one reason it was practical to make the Bradley Road purchase at this time.

“I don’t think we’ll build right away,” Villa said in reference to the sale, which is pending. “We spent significantly [from DIF fees] to upgrade the old Fire station for current use, to build Fire Station 7, and for the police station. We have this additional opportunity to spend down the DIF fees as we analyze what public facilities need to be built.”

The Kings Inn was located at the unofficial entrance to Sun City at Bradley Road and Cherry Hills Boulevard.

 The former Kings Inn site as the vacant lot has looked in recent years.