Map shows the large project site south of Highway 74 near Heritage High School. (Google Maps)
Changes are underway that will eventually fill 590 acres of open land to the west and south of Heritage High School.
Known as the Menifee Valley Specific Plan, this is a mixed-use development that will include a commercial business park; civic center area including a fire station; approximately 1,550 residential units; an elementary school; and recreation and conservation open space. The project site is located south of Highway 74, east of Menifee Road, and west of Briggs Road.
The first structures are now being erected in the northwest corner of the development and can be seen from Highway 74 near McKinley Street, just east of an SCE Service Center. The tilt-up walls being put in place will become the business park, which will include 215.5 acres devoted to “commerce and jobs”; 47.7 acres of commercial and retail space; and another 42.6 acres of commercial and retail space.
Those driving along Briggs Road south of Heritage High School will notice the grading taking place for the residential portion of the project.
This project dates back to 1997, when the Riverside County Board of Supervisors adopted the Menifee Valley Ranch Specific Plan No. 301. A number of amendments have occurred since, and the southern portion of the project site was developed into the community of Heritage Lake.
Plans for the project are described in a document that can be found on the City of Menifee website. A statement by developer Brookfield Properties says the following:
“The MVSP sets forth a guiding vision to improve the jobs-to-housing balance in northeastern Menifee, to provide the area with needed recreational amenities, and to deliver a complementary mix of land uses that incorporate regional aesthetic characteristics in a contemporary 21st century community.”
One of Brookfield’s stated objectives is to “physically separate residential, commercial business park, and business park areas through traditional and creative means such that the uses are complementary and supportive while limiting real and perceived conflicts associated with the adjacency of these uses.”
There are no announced commitments at this point regarding potential occupants of the business park or commercial business park buildings. According to the plans, “Buildings are anticipated to accommodate a mixture of general light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse/storage, fulfillment center, e-commerce, and associated operations. Building sizes will vary and have the potential to be large, reaching well over 1,000,000 square feet in size.”
Map shows the location of the different parts of the project.
Walls for the business park are visible from Highway 74.
Grading is preparing land south of the high school for residential units.
