San Jacinto Welcomes Wal-Mart Supercenter and Heralds New Retail Development in the City’s Super Block

SAN JACINTO, CALIF. - The City of San Jacinto celebrated the grand opening of a new 207,773-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter at 1861 S. San Jacinto Avenue. “The new Wal-Mart is the first of many new retailers that will be opening in the City’s ‘super block,’ fulfilling the City’s vision of a prominent commercial hub in the San Jacinto’s Valley’s eastern trade area,” said Mayor Jim Ayres.

In the summer, Pacific Retail Partners will begin construction on nearly 40,000 square feet of retail shop and pad space in front of the new Wal-Mart. Tenants are expected to include Walgreens, Pacific Dental, Cingular Wireless, Professional Nail Salon, Game Stop, Great Clips, El Pollo Loco, Wendy’s, Quiznos and Golden Chopsticks. Opening is slated for first quarter 2008, according to Joe Meyer of Pacific Retail Partners.

DBN Development, LLC announced it has plans to develop a home improvement center-anchored retail center located next door to the Wal-Mart Supercenter on San Jacinto Avenue on the 20-acre site of the San Jacinto Unified School District’s administrative facilities.

“We are excited that Wal-Mart Supercenter has opened in San Jacinto,” said Ayres. “The City’s progressive planning of industrial, commercial, and residential land has led to thousands of new residents and working professionals moving to San Jacinto and they need places to shop.”

“The opening of Wal-Mart also begins to address the substantial sales tax leakage from our community to other nearby communities,” said Assistant City Manager Tim Hults. “We want our residents to have options and choices in San Jacinto so they don’t have to leave the City and go elsewhere to spend their money.”

The increasing number of new home buyers with typically higher income levels is also accelerating the demand for upscale shopping, dining and entertainment options in San Jacinto. “New home builder data on incoming residents has consistently shown a rising demographic with average household incomes between $60,000 and $70,000,” noted Hults.

Fueling the demand is the strong population growth of more than 40 percent since 2000. “We anticipate our phenomenal growth to continue,” said Ayres. “Presently, the City has more than 15,000 residential units in various stages of construction and entitlement.”

Logistic and infrastructure enhancements, such as the 32-mile Mid-County Parkway that will connect I-15 in Corona with Highway 79 in San Jacinto, and the realignment of Highway 79 that will connect I-15 in Temecula to I-10 near San Jacinto, will further propel San Jacinto to the forefront of retail, commercial and industrial opportunities in the Inland Empire, Hults explained.

“The epicenter of these two major transportation corridors is the Gateway to the San Jacinto Valley and 1,700 acres of mixed-use, retail, office, industrial, residential, civic and healthcare opportunities. We have several projects that are already in the planning stages for the Gateway that should be a catalyst for other promising developments and economic opportunities for the region,” said San Jacinto’s Economic Development Specialist Randy Williams.

“San Jacinto has been a well kept secret however with the explosion of retail in our ‘Super Block,’ we are hoping that retailers and businesses will discover the City of San Jacinto and the outstanding potential that exists here,” Ayres added.

To learn more about the City of San Jacinto, contact its Economic Development Department at (951) 487-7330 or visit www.ci.san-jacinto.ca.us.

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