City of Ontario Update 02/16/2018

As a member of the Rotary Community, I had opportunity on Wednesday, February 14th to hear from the Development Director for the City of Ontario. The insights given to our group pertained to employment growth in the city and by proximity, the region. Also, how Ontario is planning for housing need. The following is what I took away from the presentation.

Most of us are aware that Ontario and the cities that surround it are the distribution hub of Southern California.  Goods that come into our ports are largely brought to our region's distribution centers and then disseminated through-out the country.  Ontario's primary competition for distribution warehousing are Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ontario Ranch: 

Ontario has a significant swath of undeveloped land that was previously used for farming.  Referred to as Ontario Ranch, the city anticipates developing the southern area of Ontario over the next twenty-five years.  Ontario Ranch is thirteen square miles. Development anticipates 46,500 new homes, housing approximately 150,000 residents which doubles the city's population.

Within this area, the city is planning a 320 acre park, 20 million square feet of business space, and 15.5 million square feet of retail space.

Ontario Airport:

As of 11/01/16 the airport ceased to be run by Los Angeles Airport Authority and fell under local authority.  The airport currently serves 16 major cities, has 63 daily departures, and has 8 airline carriers.

2017 showed gains of passenger traffic up 7% and cargo traffic up 14.6%.

In March of 2018, the airport will show addend flights from Frontier Airlines and China Air will begin non-stop service to Taiwan.

The local airport authority is planning new development, replacing older buildings on Airport Drive anticipating that the revenue generated with help reduce landing fees at the airport.  This is significant to our community because all passengers using Ontario Airport will see a reduction in overall ticket prices when landing fees are reduced.

Ontario Mills:

Ontario Mills seems not to have been touched by other brick and mortar retail centers.  "The Mills" enjoyed more that 25 million visitors last year with new store development bringing more than 200 stores.

Citizens Bank Arena:

The arena continues to draw a lot of different types of entertainment to the city.  The area surrounding the area continues to be under new development.  The city is eagerly anticipating a new Element by Westin hotel, 2 new restaurants, 500 multi family residential units, and commercial and retail shopping space.

If you are interested in hearing more about the City of Ontario, the State of the City is scheduled for March 28th, 2018. Check out www.ontariosoc.com for more details.