Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to k MET fourteen ninety am ABC News Radio
in the Southern California Business Report with the Vett Walker,
a show dedicated to highlighting successful Southern California businesses and
the people.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Behind the.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Welcome and thank you for joining the Southern California Business
Report on ABC News and Talks k MET fourteen ninety AM,
ninety eight point one FM and km ET TV. I'm
e Vett Walker live blasting our single from the center
of Southern California, serving a population of over twenty five million.
Get us crystal clear and on demand by downloading the
(00:42):
free live streaming app on Google Play and the app
lap Store. As always, a huge shout out to the
team Mitch, Bill and Sean I love you guys, and
to our special advisory committee that can be found at
www dot SCBR talk dot com Forward Slash Advisory Committee.
(01:02):
Click on the link and learn about the incredible leaders
doing the work. And of course, speaking of leaders, you know,
I am absolutely thrilled to introduce Jennifer McLain Hiramoto, who
stands at the forefront of California's economic transformation, fusing vision
and action as Ontario's Executive Director of Economic development with
(01:24):
nearly fifteen years of dedicated public service, and as chair
of the California Association for Local Economic Development, she orchestrates
bold real estate ventures and cultivates thriving business communities. From
her work in Glendale and Monrovia to her leadership in Ontario,
Hiramoto's passion is matched only by her relentless drive to
(01:45):
build prosperous, resilient cities, defining the future of economic growth
in California. She earned her bachelor's degree from San Jose
State University and her master's degree in public administration from
the University of Southern California and lives in your Belinda
with her husband. Thank you so much for being with
us today, Jennifer.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Thank you even it's a pleasure, so as.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
You know, I really enjoy starting off every conversation with
a little overview of your journey and what that look
like in now becoming the director of Economic Development for
the City of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Well, it's so fun to be able to be on
the show and share my journey and also to talk
about the City of Ontario. But when I was a
young girl, my big dream was to be a newspaper reporter.
I did not have a face for radio or TV.
It turns out I wanted to stick to newspapers, so
I reported on local.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Government when I graduated from San Jose State.
Speaker 5 (02:44):
My first job it was with the Loscottos Weekly Times,
and almost immediately I started reporting on cities, the town
of Los Gatto's.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
That was the first gig.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
That career brought me down to southern California and I
worked for the San gabral Valley Tribune. Was really my
love of local government and seeing how city staff members
can not only report on a problem, which is what
I was doing, but I also had a chance to
really make a difference and be part of the solution.
So from there I ended up going back to school
(03:17):
getting my master's degree in public administration and started as
an intern for the City of Monrovia, and because I
could write, I worked my first my first job in Monrovia.
My first project was working on a downtown revitalization plan
and we.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Came up with a five year strategy.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
And it was also there that I met Scott o'choa,
the city manager of Monrovia. Fast forward, he's now the
city manager for the City of Ontario. But really that's
where I cut my teeth and I fell in love
with the work of local government. It's just a really
quick not quick, but it's a lot faster paced than
(03:57):
maybe some of the other forms of government out there,
and you can see your impact and the results really quickly.
So that's ultimately how I got my start in local government.
I've been working in the City of Ontario though for
the past five years. I started as our Economic Development
director and now I'm our executive and the work that
we're doing here in Ontario is it's extraordinary. So I'm
(04:21):
looking forward to sharing more about some of those projects
that we're undertaking today.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Absolutely, And you know, in what it is that you shared,
you spoke about solutions, and as you know, that's one
of the triads of the platform of this program, focused
on solutions, opportunities, and success and leaders like you, and
especially the City of Ontario hits everyone out of the park.
So Jennifer, tell us a little bit about what those
(04:47):
economic development goals or mission looks like for the residents
of the City of Ontario.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Yeah, so, really for economic development, and it's.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
One of those careers that wakes up and they think
I'm going to be an economic developer when I grow up.
But it's really a multifaceted career path and it involves
many different skills. But at its core, economic development is
all about improving the quality of life for residents, and
we do that through generating jobs, through generation of wealth
(05:16):
through sales tax, property tax, and really.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Uplifting the entire community.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
So that's what our focus is on, and I feel
very lucky within the City of Ontario to have a
city council who is ultimately responsible for setting that vision,
setting that tone, and then supporting the economic development initiatives.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
So when I look across Ontario and all of.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
The work that we do within economic development, we approach
it really through five main districts that we are focusing
our efforts on. And when I say we, I mean
truly it's the city council, it's the city manager, it's
the city staff, it's the vendors and consultants that support that.
(06:00):
There's a lot of people that go into to turning
a dream into a reality. So for the five different
districts that we have in Ontario, if you were to
look at Ontario as a whole, this is a big city.
It's about one hundred and eighty five thousand people. Our
budget is one billion dollars with a B, so it's
(06:21):
a billion dollar corporation. And really we're constantly being challenged
with how do we deliver better quality of services, better
quality of life, and better amenities to the residents and
the businesses that are here.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So I can launch.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Into all these projects, but I don't want to get too.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Far, too fast, right, So we're going to jump into
one of the primary projects that is everywhere you can
read about it, and that's Ontario Branch. And it's a
new development which is developing over twelve hundred homes a
year and it's been over one hundred years in the making,
with historical annexation as a milestone. Please expand on that
(07:04):
and how that integrates into your mission for the City
of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Yes, I'm so glad that you brought up Ontario Ranch
the city as a whole. Like you mentioned, it's one
hundred and twenty five years old, and if you were
to just kind of cut a line through the city
north of the sixty Freeway is where Ontario and its
borders generally are, and that's where we have it's been
about one hundred and fifty thousand population or so, but
(07:30):
south of the sixty and I'm just kind of using generalities,
but south of the sixty Freeway this was former dairy
farm and it was annex about twenty to twenty five
years ago. But with dairy farm also comes with.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Not much, not a lot of infrastructure.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Really land, but it needed to be developed and so
over the past twenty years there's been a consortium of
developers that have come together with support from the city
and of course the vision from the City Council to
invest in the Ontario Ranch. And if you were to
drive through today or even I love to drive from
(08:11):
City Hall which is in downtown off a Euclid, you
go all the way south on Euclid and you experience
many different cities, so you have like your kind of
beautiful downtown. You drive past the sixty freeway. Suddenly you
see some of the dairies. Then you see some of
the very large industrial buildings. And when I say large,
(08:33):
I mean large. For example, Ontario now has the world's
largest Amazon facility at four million square feet, and what
that looks like is they went vertical and there are
about eleven million square feet of industrial development that's brand
new in South Ontario. But then you keep on driving
(08:54):
and you start to see things like homes, and these
are new single family homes. As you said, twelve hundred
new single family homes each year being built. But on
top of that, the city's delivering services. So what that
means is it's not just the infrastructure, the sewer or
the water mains, but it's also parks. There's a three
(09:15):
hundred acre grand park right now. We have one hundred
and twenty acres of that is that the city owns.
It's being graded and it's under construction right now. We
also have schools, fire houses, there'll be a police sub station,
so there's a lot.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
It's not just.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
The development of homes or the development of industrial buildings
or office parks or new restaurants. It really is a
city within a city that is being constructed as we speak.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
That is remarkable. And so I would like you to
expand on some of the changing land use and regulations
and how you and your office help to accommodate and support,
you know, the developers that are developing on this land.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Within economic development is really to help make it as
easy as possible, as predictable as possible, and to step
in where maybe the private market needs a little bit
of support. But we are but one agency within the
City of Ontario.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Credit.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
I'll give credit where credit is due, and our Community
Development department. Those are where the city planners and our
building officials are and many other divisions. But it's really
the city planners who have set the stage for zoning
codes and really making those.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Urban planning decisions. How far should an.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Industrial building be located next to our residential development, Where
should you put parks, Where is the highest invest use
to place retail and office businesses? So the planning team
has really set that foundation, and where economic development has
come forward is as I mentioned, to try to step
(10:59):
in and help make development.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
A little bit easier.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
We also are in the business of acquiring land, and
we acquire this land oftentimes so that we can build
on other developments. And so one of those we have
a very large development underway, which I think we'll talk about.
But this is the Sports Empire and it's located on
the very north section of Ontario Ranch. This was property
(11:27):
that up until a couple of years ago, was dairy
farm the city.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
This was just two and a half years ago.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
The city acquired two hundred acres for the development of
a regional sports complex anchored by a minor league baseball stadium.
And when we talked about some of the extraordinary things
that Ontario is doing, this sports empire is one of them,
and that's where economic development was very involved on the upstart.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Well, you know you mentioned very much. It's a team effort, right,
So it's a multifaceted approach to have these projects come
together and move smoothly, trying to create as predictable of
an environment as possible. Please speak to the visionary leadership
that set out to build an entirely new city within
Ontario's boundaries.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Yeah, so we are, and I'll say it probably many
times today, but we're very lucky in Ontario to have
a city council that has a very strong vision. They're
very pro development. They have been on this council for
many years. They have tried and true relationships and what
that consistency and reliability has has done for the city
(12:37):
is it's make it. It's making it or has made
it that much easier to move forward with our development plans.
But we also have a city manager, as I mentioned,
Scott o'choa. He has he has a very strong vision
as well. And then, of course we have our residents
who want these amenities and who are asking for these amenities,
(13:00):
and if it were not for the residents and their support,
none of this would be made possible. One example of
that was actually the passage of Measure Q.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
So Measure Q was a full sense.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Tax, and this was proved on April.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
First, twenty twenty three.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
When that was approved, it was it was expected that
through this full sent sales tax, we would get one
hundred million dollars a year a new revenue, and all
of that revenue would go back into city services, things
like enhanced storm drains, homeless services, better community center improvements,
(13:41):
and of course things like the amenities I get the
sports empire, and the leadership of the city was very
deliberate and laying out what these projects were. But even
more impressive is that we've delivered in just two years time.
We have been able to acquire property, start construction, in
(14:03):
some cases complete construction on these major public improvement projects,
and it's been pretty extraordinary to watch this development.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
It absolutely has been a truly extraordinary feat to watch
how smoothly, how quickly, and how efficiently these projects are
really taking life. And earlier you mentioned one of the
goals of economic development is improving the quality of life
for the residents in Ontario and surrounding communities. So talk
about how these new projects are improving the quality of
(14:36):
life for residents.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Yes, so there's a few few different ways. So the
first is that I mean and I mentioned a few
different projects. So the Continuum of Care Campus, so this
is intended to be a wrap around service for homeless
and those in need.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
The city has.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
We're setting up shop right now for a temporary Continuum
of Care access center. We've since acquired property to develop
a full and permanent Conteam of Care campus.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
This is a forty eight million.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
Dollar development and again it was made possible in large
part because of Measure Q. But if you're to drive
around the city, you would also see that there's a
lot of construction, everything from storm drain projects that are underway,
new and improved civic campus and downtown facilities as well
(15:31):
from parking structures to support on this on mobility, and
then we are also seeing other projects like around some
of the big assets that the city already has, the
Toyota Arena expansion near the Convention Center, and then of
course the Ontario Sports Complex. So these are all developments
(15:53):
that are happening in real time. But it's not just
that the City of Ontario is taking the lead on it.
We're seeing that there's other relationships to that have supported
some of the improvement throughout Ontario. And one of the
examples of that, and if you've driven up and down
Hole you will have seen it is the San Bernardino
(16:14):
County Transportation Authority. They're currently developing a center running line bus.
It's a zero emission bus. All of that construction that
you see on hold, that's what that is. SBCTA acquired
about two hundred pieces of property so they can push
the easements back and make way for this transit corridor
(16:37):
and that is underway now and will certainly improve the
accessibility along Hope Boulevard and the look and feel.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I'm so excited. I'm thrilled to see those projects, you know,
come to life and be completed. But you also mentioned
the Sports Empire and Ontario. Please expand on that and
what the community can see in its features and as
it comes along and is completely built out.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Yeah, so we are coming off a high in the
City of Ontario. So just last week as part of
the one of the tenants that will be in the
Sports Empire will be our new Single A Dodger affiliate.
We launched the name on Thursday. It's the Ontario Tower Buzzers.
That's paying homage to of course our strong aviation tie
(17:26):
and a little bit of play with.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Top Gun there. But the Single A Dodger affiliate Tower Buzzers.
They are slated to open.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
The stadium will be complete and they will be playing
April second six, So we've all been marching forward this
big day for opening day.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
But the Sports.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
Complex is not just about this minor league baseball stadium,
professional baseball stadium, and by the way, it will be
the best stadium in the country, and I cannot wait
to see the final product. But that is going to
be the anchor of the sports complex in total.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Though.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
This is going to be a.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
Facility that will bring in new soccer fields, baseball, softball,
football fields. It is really intended to be a youth
sports mecca. We expect about one point two million visitors
a year, but of course it is an amenity to
our residents as well, so we will have the sports
(18:25):
amenities there. We will have the baseball stadium, and then
we are also looking at developing the area near the
stadium village to offer more retail opportunities, not just for
the folks that attend the sports complex, but also who
live nearby. I mean, the reality is that we still
(18:46):
need a lot more, many more amenities within Ontario Ranch,
and this will help provide some great places to eat
and enjoy.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Well. That's absolutely exciting. So everybody that heard, mark your
calendars because opening day for the Tower Buzzers will be
April second, twenty twenty six. We want you to come up,
show up and visit the best stadium built in the country.
I'm absolutely thrilled. And as a soccer mom of three
who spent ten years, you know, raising three kids in soccer,
(19:19):
it's exciting and thrilling to see that the availability of
those fields are going to grow exponentially. So now it
won't be a question of gosh, where can they play
their games or where can they conduct their practices. You're
going to have a huge plethora of opportunities for the
community to come and engage and continue that healthy activity
and lifestyle across various sports. So very thrilled about that.
(19:44):
But talk about some of the new businesses that are
coming into Ontario, and I know a lot of them
are surrounding logistics and distribution.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
That's right. So Ontario is lucky in that it has
a diverse economic face. Of course, we're very strong and
logistics in distribution, and that is in large part because
of the.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Ontario International Airport.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
The story of the airport again, I mean this is
it's more than one hundred years old, but to some
extent it's a bit like a startup. The airport successfully
broke away from Los Angeles World Airports almost ten years ago,
and during that time they have continued to secure.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
New flights, new direct flights.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
Improve their terminals and they're now one of the nation's
top cargo airports and you can see the benefits throughout Ontario.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Ontario International Airport also.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Has they own property and so they have new development
that's happening surrounding either end of the airport. They currently
have a very large industrial park that is under construction.
This is by McDonald's property and they're developing these tiltups
now and are.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Starting to secure leases.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
But as I mentioned, Ontario Ranch also has a number
of new logistics businesses.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
There's a very large.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Industrial park developed by pro logists and also developer Rita
and this is where you see tenants like Lululemon, Home Depot, Nike.
They are these are you know, the top corporate names
located within Ontario. I think there's a big misconception too
about about logistics, and there's a concern that they're moving
(21:42):
toward automation and that means there's no jobs. But they
are very strong employment based for not just the city
of Ontario, but for our entire region. Amazon, for example,
I'd mentioned we have the largest Amazon facility in the world,
their distribution center. That facility in employees two thousand people
and those are two thousand people that need places to
(22:05):
eat or to who come into Ontario for work, and
we need those We need those sales tax dollars. The
other thing about some of these logistics companies too is
that these are great stable property tax generators. And when
we look I had mentioned before, Ontario has a billion
dollar budget, and this budget ultimately goes back into paying
(22:29):
for services for residents, that's police, fire, your utilities, and
we are constantly looking at how do we improve and
upgrade all of those amenities. When you have a strong
property tax base, a strong sales tax base, which, by
the way, the Ontario Mills continues to do phenomenally well
(22:52):
and they're one of our top sales tax revenue generator.
The stronger we are on property, sales tax and even
transit occupants tax like for hotels, then the more that
we can reinvest back into the community. So I'm sorry
I went.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Three or four different directions there.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
It's just there's the Ontario economy is continues to perform
in very strong well.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
It's very exciting because there's just so much to talk about,
so much growth across every facet. When you're talking about
those different tax spaces and how they help to allow
the city to reinvest into the community, A lot of
that also leads itself into the infrastructure and allows it,
you know, the rapid development to continue. So talk about
(23:37):
some of the other infrastructure that maybe residents don't see
that benefits them on a daily basis.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
Yes, So I talked a little bit about Hope Boulevard
and what we're doing there through SBCTA.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
There's also some other major projects throughout I mean really
throughout this city.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
I guess I do want to talk a minute about
downtown Ontario, and that's another I think it's a special
place for many people. I mean, you think about where
you go when you want to spend your weekends, and
historic charming downtown is always something that.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Is savored and enjoyed.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
When you go up and down Euclid Avenue within downtown Ontario,
it's a it can be a confusing experience because you
see these beautiful buildings, they're historic. You see a beautiful median,
historic median as well, that's where they used to have
the the mule car. But some of the downtown businesses
(24:44):
are vacant, and what the city has started to do
is acquire some of these buildings because you've had unreinforced
masonry or property owners who really just can't afford to
update their buildings.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Rather than wait for the private.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Market to fix itself, the city has started to take control.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
So if you were to drive up.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
And down Euclid today, you would see several projects. One
of them is we just completed our first mixed use development.
Accompanying that was a there's also a city parking structure,
which I know does not sound that that's special, but
I will tell.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
You that in every story.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
Of a revitalization in downtown's It starts with a few things,
and parking structures seem to be one of them, and
that's something that is a city can definitely can do.
So we have our quote sea block development that's underway
now on Euclid itself. The city actually took control of
that street that was a cow Trans operated facility. The
(25:49):
city will now look at doing things like streetcy synchronization,
how do you slow down traffic, how do you how
do you improve the sidewalks so it's more pedestrian friendly experience.
These are just they sound small, they're but they will
go a long way.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
I'm excited to expand more on that after our break. Jennifer,
thank you so much, everybody who's listening. Stand By Yvette
Walker with ABC News and Talk Southern California Business Report
here today with Jennifer Maclain Hiramoto, Ontario's executive director of
Economic Development and chair of the California Association for Local
Economic Development, who drives real estate innovation and business growth.
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With fifteen years in public service, her leadership from Glendale
to Ontario is shaping resilient, prosperous communities across California. When return.
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Speaker 3 (29:51):
Welcome back everyone, Evett Walker with ABC News and Talks
Southern California Business Report here today with Jennifer McLain Hiramoto,
Ontario Executive director of Economic Development and chair of the
California Association for Local Economic Development, who drives real organization
and business growth. With fifteen years in public service, her
(30:11):
leadership from Glendale to Ontario is shaping resilient, prosperous communities
across California. Thank you again for sharing your time and
your work with us today.
Speaker 5 (30:21):
Jennifer, Thank you, Avet. It's my pleasure to be here.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
So prior to the break, you started going into the
evolution of downtown Ontario and how that dynamic is shifting.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
Yes, so, as I was mentioning, everybody loves to enjoy
an authentic historic downtown, but historic downtowns are also just
like the name suggests, they're old, and sometimes those buildings
need a little bit of TLC, and with TLC that
also means you need resources and development partners and the
(30:55):
right tenants to go in. So rather than continue to
wait for the problem to fix itself, the city has
gone in and started to invest, including acquiring property, trying
to partner with the right development partners, and even doing
small things like One example is the city can buy
(31:15):
property a lot faster than it can redevelop it. It
takes time to go through that process to find the
right development partner, go through development lands, et cetera. One
of the properties that we acquired, it's the former Gemels
Pharmacy building on Nuclid Avenue, and we have while we're
working with the development partner, we've had these vacant storefronts
(31:39):
and the city ended up doing a pop up retail program.
We actually put it out there to the universe and
we offered one dollar free rent. It was an application
basis and it was for a six month term, but
really we were looking for certain retailers who would be
able to go in there on a short timeframe. They'd
(31:59):
be able to test their idea in the market, and
they'd also be doing the city of favor by really
having somebody activate the storefront and it also helps avoid transience.
So we have since launched this program, it's been very successful.
We've also been able to secure some tenants full time
(32:19):
and it's actually one of our pop up locations where
you can buy merch for the tower buzzers. But it's
just it's small things like this as well that ultimately
go a long way as a city is working on
really a long term revitalization strategy for downtown Ontario.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
I just love that strategy because it's basically a real
time incubator for businesses that have, you know, have the
opportunity to really test their ideas as you mentioned, and
grow and be a part of that fabric and downtown
experience in Ontario. Absolutely forward thinking and innovative as always
for the City of Ontario, So that's exciting to learn about,
(32:58):
but also talk about some of the major development projects
that are emerging around two to Arena transforming the entertainment landscape.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
Yes, so I had mentioned it briefly before. Our City
council has made some very bold moves during their tenures
and one of them is they've delivered on big assets
like convention centers and the arena, their support of the
Ontario International Airport, and then of course I've talked about
the stadium. But one of the challenges that we've seen,
(33:29):
or I guess opportunities, is that the Toyota Arena is
a great example. You have an eleven thousand seat arena,
one of the top performing arenas of its size across
the nation, but there remains an opportunity to develop around it.
If you were to go to the arena, there aren't
that many places where you can grab a drink or
(33:50):
grab a bike before or after, although I will do
a plug for Eureka Burger across the street at the
Element if you haven't been there. So the city has
partnered up with a depth development and they are a
part of the solution. So they've broken ground. They're in
their first phase right now. At total buildout, they will
develop seventy thousand square feet of new commercial and about
(34:13):
seven hundred residential units. And this is exactly the type
of development that we need to be able to complete
that entire vision of supporting this entertainment district. There's big
plans to for even areas further surrounding the Toyota Arena,
but the area as a whole, we've also seen new
(34:33):
development emerge. We have Lewis Lewis Homes, They've just completed
a great retail center and they have plans for future
homes new home. They also added about two hundred new
homes like their name suggests, near the arena. And then
we continue to see development pop up throughout that district.
(34:55):
And this is also a great compliment to what our
neighbors in the north are doing in Rancho Cucamonga. Truly,
the high Tide rises all and what Rancho Cucamonga has
done and be able to secure the bright line will
also benefit the Ontario Entertainment District and Ontario as a whole.
So it's the Certainly the Entertainment District is a place
(35:18):
to watch, it's a place to invest if listeners are hearing,
and soon we a great place to eat in grab
a cocktail.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Absolutely doubtedly so, Jennifer. And with that said, I just
want to point out, as you mentioned, you know, having
a neighboring city and working with them and you know,
elevating and leveraging those assets together is another innovative and
exceptional way that I have seen not only a city
of Ontario, but surrounding communities like Rancho, Fontana, rialto upland
(35:48):
all come together to find the common ground and the
you know, elevation of that common rising tide. So hats
off to you. And my next question is, as the
chair of cal ed, how do other city leaders look
at the progress and innovation of Ontario in relation to
the work within their own communities.
Speaker 5 (36:10):
So a couple of things.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
I will go back one step.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
I wish I could take credit for this, I absolutely can't.
I'm just lucky to be able to ride the wave
our city council and city leadership. They have been at
this for a long time and I'm just standing on
the shoulders of giants and it is truly it's a
very special time to be part of this organization. I'm
really grateful to them for that. This is also a
(36:35):
very special time for the Inland Empire. And as you
were mentioning, I mean our neighbors throughout the Inland Empire.
Oftentimes it seems like we're a bit of the underdog,
right We're compared to County of Los Angeles, maybe the
counties to the south of US. But this is really
the Inland Empire's time to shine. And you see some
(36:56):
of the challenges that certainly the City of La and
the County of La are going through. One of them
is affordable housing, and housing within the Inland Empire, just
by its nature is already more affordable where we are
in the marketplace. And what we see is that there
continues to be this migration from folks in Los Angeles
(37:19):
County who have discovered the Inland Empire and they've realized
they can.
Speaker 12 (37:23):
Get more a larger home at a better price and
a higher quality of life than maybe what they were experiencing.
Speaker 5 (37:34):
And I think that that is a sentiment that we
see across the Inland Empire, and it really is us
as the Inland Empire region trying to deliver a better
quality of life for people who have lived here for
a long time, but also who are perhaps looking for
something different.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
So I see that.
Speaker 5 (37:55):
You know, there's always a friendly competition with some of
our neighboring counties, but I can see that naturally, Ontario
in particular is very poised for success just because of
where we are geographically.
Speaker 3 (38:11):
Well so, as a resident myself of the Inland Empire
for twenty five years, which is actually relatively new. When
you speak to some residents that are actually multi generational,
it's exciting to see the support that you're getting. And
as you mentioned, the time to shine, so everyone can
really bask in that light. Speak to the residence sentiment
(38:33):
and how they embrace the city's ongoing evolution and transformation.
So I'll use a.
Speaker 5 (38:41):
Couple of examples just to kind of highlight where I
think resident sentiment is at, though I do not want
to speak for all residents, but this is just kind
of the litmus test. The first was the passage of
Measure Q. The facts, the fact that residents came out
to support measure queue of full scent sales tax shows
(39:04):
that they were in support and believe that their city
leadership would be able to do what they said they would.
And if you were to drive out throughout Ontario today
and you see the amount of development that is occurring,
the amount of infrastructure that is being installed in storm drains,
or even at the Sports Empire where you can see
this stadium being built in real time, the city delivers,
(39:27):
and I think that that goes a long way. I'll
also just mentioned that you know, we're coming off of
a big week last week with the brand launch and
then of course our Cruise and Reunion event which celebrates
classic cars in our downtown. But at the brand launch alone,
we're estimating that there were about eight thousand people.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
Those are eight thousand.
Speaker 5 (39:48):
Passionate local Dodgers fans that came out and they're excited
to share in this moment with us. And if that's
any indication of what we can expect at this stadium
in the future, then I think that that we're onto something.
I mean, this is beyond it's a new it's not
only a new era of baseball for our community, but
it truly is uh, there's something in the air, and
(40:10):
it's all and it's good, and it's exciting and and
and really, I mean, the residents do have a lot
to be excited about. They also will likely see their
their property values increase as a result of all this development.
And then the city is continuing to look to ways
too to support new new homeowners through right now we're
(40:31):
doing a pilot project to support new first time home buyers.
So with all of this development happening, it is also
with the mindset that we want to provide services for
everybody that is within our community certainly.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
And you know, one of the beautiful things about the
community that is being built is that you can live,
work and play right there in the community in which
you live, and you don't have to go far to
do so and enjoy that quality of life. But with
you know, those big draws like the Toyota Arena, like
the Tower buzzers, like the Ontario.
Speaker 5 (41:10):
Rain, the Empire Strikers.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
In all of those entertainment and sports draws that really
encourage not only local residents but surrounding members of the
community to come out to Ontario. Talk about the transit
and occupancy tax and how that becomes an important revenue
for the City of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (41:31):
Yeah, so tourism is also a very important part of
our local economy here. And as I mentioned, the city
council has made these decisions to invest in.
Speaker 4 (41:42):
The Toyota Arena, the Convention Center.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
This is a two hundred and fifty thousand square foot
convention center that is busy year round. And then of
course we have the airport soon our stadium, and then
we have hotels. We have about fifty hotels within the
City of Ontario, and we actually have a visitors in
convention bureau. It's called go KEL and we're in partner
(42:05):
partnership with the city of rancho and together GOKEL with
rancho Is it uses funds to help market our area
to future to tourists. But the other important element, just
to highlight is that cities typically they do not generate
(42:26):
They do not develop convention centers because they're going to
make money off of the convention center. What they're really
trying to do is generate economic impact. It's the folks
who are going to stay at the hotel who are
going to shop local. Maybe they'll go to the mills afterwards,
they'll dine locally. That's where you end up generating your
revenue in Ontario with the hotels that we do have
(42:47):
right now tot transit occupancy tax, so you pay a
little fee. You know many cities do this. You pay
a little fee when you pay your tab at the hotels.
This up generating about seventeen million dollars a year in
revenue for the city, which again is an important generator
to our overall tax base. And what's great about that
(43:09):
is that's not a tax that's really imposed on local
on city or excuse me, on city residents. But that
really is a fee that is being placed on those
who are from out of town. So we continue to
add more hotel stock. There's a couple of hotels that
are under development right now, including we have a dual
(43:30):
brand high Att.
Speaker 4 (43:31):
Place Hyatt House just off of Inland Empire in.
Speaker 5 (43:34):
Archibald if you've ever, if you've noticed it just north
of the ten Freeway that's under construction now. We recently
did a development agreement for another potential six hundred key
hotel near the Convention Center. And then we also have
a hotel that is being proposed near the stadium as well,
in addition to about maybe four or five others that
(43:56):
are in the pipeline. So these are the hotel development
and offerings that we have in Ontario are continuing to
expand and to grow.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Oh my goodness, so exciting. And we're going to have
to continue this conversation because we're just skimming the top.
But Jennifer, please share with us how it feels to
be standing on the shoulders of giants and spearheading these
projects and making sure everything goes, you know, is completed
without a hitch. So you.
Speaker 5 (44:24):
I'm always cautious to take credit for the spearheading part.
You know, again, I'm just I'm just riding the wave.
And so my objective is just try to keep pace right,
just try to keep up with the city council and
our city manager and our assistant city manager, try to
keep up with the development community with what their needs are,
and just keep going. We have a lot of progress
(44:48):
that we're seeing in a very short amount of time.
And you'd asked before about my experience on kaled and
how does Ontario compare with perhaps some of the other cities.
I will say that Ontario gets a lot of a
lot of recognition for our efforts, and I do think
that we are among an elite group of cities throughout
(45:11):
the state that are really pushing forward for development at
this pace and this scale. And there's I think a
few reasons why that is all happening right now, and
one of it, again, it goes back to the city council,
its vision, the city leadership with our city manager and
assistant city manager. It goes back to the resources that
(45:34):
we have, our economic stability and diversity. But most certainly
it goes back to the residents and their trusts in
their local government. If we didn't have those and the
final component of actually delivering on these projects, we wouldn't
be able to move forward with anything else. And so
(45:54):
I think about some of the other cities up and
down the state that are also doing extraordinary things. And
you know, some of it too, is in preparation for
the Olympics, and we all have kind of this outside
date of twenty twenty eight coming up. That adds a
little bit of a sense of urgency too. I mean we,
as I mentioned, we want to catch the wave. We
(46:16):
want to be able to welcome these visitors, these international visitors,
to put our city on display, put our region on display,
put our best foot forward. So all of this is
deeply motivating. We have three years to go, but that
is ultimately what drives me and drives a lot of
what we do in Ontario.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
I love it, you know, Jennifer. I love your responses
because despite the fact that I just get so excited
and thrilled to talk about how in your position you
are a part of spearheading this, you always are grounded
and say, you know what, I'm just part of the team.
It takes the village to really make this all happen.
And that's exactly the mindset, the attitude, and just the
(46:58):
frame of mind that has made these efforts so successful
and what has been so unique in the region that
we see today. So with that said, Jennifer, what is
next for the city of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
Oh okay, this is a fun question. Well, I will say,
and I was just reflecting because we've we've had some
big dates coming up and we have some big projects
that are are in the works right So as far
as what's next, I mean this sports complex. I encourage
anybody who wants to drive out to see the stadium
(47:35):
off of Riverside. It's under construction and it's almost done.
And what you'll notice is that there is a scoreboard
that looks awfully familiar, just like the one that you
would see at Dodgers Stadium. So you can drive by.
If you see that, you know you're in the right place.
But in the next few months, so we will see
the completion of the stadium, the sports complex, those youth
(47:58):
fields is that will trail a few months later. So
that will be delivered in about October of twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
Hope Bulevard.
Speaker 5 (48:06):
I'm just gonna go up north a little bit. Hope
Bulevard will be under construction still for at least another
eighteen months. But that progress, it's a little painful right now.
The life hack is Drive up Sultana. But so while
that's going on, you're also going to see some of
the openings of projects like the Hyatt House, Hyatt Place
(48:27):
I mentioned off of Archibald, the Ontario Mills.
Speaker 3 (48:31):
You know that is.
Speaker 5 (48:33):
There's always a lot of speculation about what is the
future of malls in America. The Mills continues to do well.
They also continue to look at how do they reinvent
themselves and so there might be some new development surrounding
the Ontario Mills. I'm just traveling all across the city
(48:53):
in my mind right now. You will see the development
around the arena continue to progress. So it's about an
eighteen month construction. We probably have another year on that.
It will also include a beautiful new plaza, which I
did not talk about, but that is another investment by
the city between the adept development and the arena, and
you'll probably see a bunch of new restaurants that you've
(49:15):
been dying to try. So there are there really is
just a progress at every turn. In addition to all
really then that's in bolts of what cities do too,
street projects, pavement infrastructure. I mean, all of this is
happening in real time and so if you have a
little bit of a delay because of a construction, it'll
(49:39):
be worth.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
It absolutely well. Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing
your work and you know, elevating that message and putting
us in the know as to what is happening in
the City of Ontario and how it benefits not only
the local residents but the region as a whole.
Speaker 5 (49:56):
It is really my pleasure. I cannot wait to see
every body at the official opening in April second, twenty
twenty six for our Ontario Tower Buzzers. But yes, there's
a lot to be excited about in not just Ontario,
but in the Inland Empire. This is truly an exciting
time and I'm just lucky to be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
And before we go, Jennifer, please share the best way
to connect with the City of Ontario, your Economic Department
for anybody that's listening that wants to launch a business
in Ontario and discover the resources available.
Speaker 5 (50:30):
Yes, so we have a website. You can always go
to Ontario Thanks Business dot com. Of course, we have
our LinkedIn which is an Ontario Economic Development agency, and
the City of Ontario as well as Ontario Economic Development.
Speaker 4 (50:46):
We have a very strong.
Speaker 5 (50:48):
Social We're strong on social, so you can follow the
City of Ontario, you can follow the Economic Development Department,
that's the Ontario EDA. On our Instagram, we always post
some cool reels about what's happening with our new businesses
and what's to come in the city. So those are
a few different ways. And then of course make sure
(51:11):
to follow the Ontario Tower buzzers and you can find
out more about what's happening with the team.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
So excited. Thank you again, Jennifer, and we'll follow up
again to track some of these projects that are, as
you said in evolving in lifetime. So thank you so
much for that.
Speaker 5 (51:31):
It is my pleasure. I'm happy to share the story
of Ontario and can't wait to see what's next, all right, So.
Speaker 3 (51:37):
For everybody else, thank you so for everyone listening. Don't
forget to find us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Check us out on SCBR talk dot com, and don't
miss my conversation with Sheriff Shannon Dikis. We're in the
vast expanse of San Bardino County, the nation's largest by land.
He leads a dedicated force safeguarding more than two point
(51:59):
one million lives with unwavering resolve. His department's forty two
hundred professionals and fifteen hundred and fifty two volunteers stand
sentinel with eight county and fourteen contract patrol stages, forging
partnerships that foster hope, opportunity, and progress. Backed by an
eight hundred million dollar budget, their mission transcends mere law enforcement,
(52:21):
reflecting a commitment to building safer, stronger communities in one
of America's most dynamic regions. Next week, we will have
Christine Scott, regional public Affairs manager for SoCal Gas, who
wields her influence across the Inland empire as both a
corporate leader and elected Rancho Cucamonga City council member. Renowned
for championing public affairs, Scott's leadership extends to presiding over
(52:45):
regional organizations and driving award winning community initiatives. Her extensive
experience in strategic communications and civic service has earned her
top statewide honors, making her a pivotal force shaping Southern
California's future. You do not want to miss it.
Speaker 13 (53:00):
We will see you all next week.
Speaker 8 (53:31):
This has been the Southern California Business.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
Report with Evatt Walker on k e T fourteen ninety am,
FM ninety eight point one and ABC News Radio affiliate,
A show dedicated to highlighting successfu
Welcome to k MET fourteen ninety am ABC News Radio
in the Southern California Business Report with the Vett Walker,
a show dedicated to highlighting successful Southern California businesses and
the people.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Behind the.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Welcome and thank you for joining the Southern California Business
Report on ABC News and Talks k MET fourteen ninety AM,
ninety eight point one FM and km ET TV. I'm
e Vett Walker live blasting our single from the center
of Southern California, serving a population of over twenty five million.
Get us crystal clear and on demand by downloading the
(00:42):
free live streaming app on Google Play and the app
lap Store. As always, a huge shout out to the
team Mitch, Bill and Sean I love you guys, and
to our special advisory committee that can be found at
www dot SCBR talk dot com Forward Slash Advisory Committee.
(01:02):
Click on the link and learn about the incredible leaders
doing the work. And of course, speaking of leaders, you know,
I am absolutely thrilled to introduce Jennifer McLain Hiramoto, who
stands at the forefront of California's economic transformation, fusing vision
and action as Ontario's Executive Director of Economic development with
(01:24):
nearly fifteen years of dedicated public service, and as chair
of the California Association for Local Economic Development, she orchestrates
bold real estate ventures and cultivates thriving business communities. From
her work in Glendale and Monrovia to her leadership in Ontario,
Hiramoto's passion is matched only by her relentless drive to
(01:45):
build prosperous, resilient cities, defining the future of economic growth
in California. She earned her bachelor's degree from San Jose
State University and her master's degree in public administration from
the University of Southern California and lives in your Belinda
with her husband. Thank you so much for being with
us today, Jennifer.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Thank you even it's a pleasure, so as.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
You know, I really enjoy starting off every conversation with
a little overview of your journey and what that look
like in now becoming the director of Economic Development for
the City of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Well, it's so fun to be able to be on
the show and share my journey and also to talk
about the City of Ontario. But when I was a
young girl, my big dream was to be a newspaper reporter.
I did not have a face for radio or TV.
It turns out I wanted to stick to newspapers, so
I reported on local.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Government when I graduated from San Jose State.
Speaker 5 (02:44):
My first job it was with the Loscottos Weekly Times,
and almost immediately I started reporting on cities, the town
of Los Gatto's.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
That was the first gig.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
That career brought me down to southern California and I
worked for the San gabral Valley Tribune. Was really my
love of local government and seeing how city staff members
can not only report on a problem, which is what
I was doing, but I also had a chance to
really make a difference and be part of the solution.
So from there I ended up going back to school
(03:17):
getting my master's degree in public administration and started as
an intern for the City of Monrovia, and because I
could write, I worked my first my first job in Monrovia.
My first project was working on a downtown revitalization plan
and we.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Came up with a five year strategy.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
And it was also there that I met Scott o'choa,
the city manager of Monrovia. Fast forward, he's now the
city manager for the City of Ontario. But really that's
where I cut my teeth and I fell in love
with the work of local government. It's just a really
quick not quick, but it's a lot faster paced than
(03:57):
maybe some of the other forms of government out there,
and you can see your impact and the results really quickly.
So that's ultimately how I got my start in local government.
I've been working in the City of Ontario though for
the past five years. I started as our Economic Development
director and now I'm our executive and the work that
we're doing here in Ontario is it's extraordinary. So I'm
(04:21):
looking forward to sharing more about some of those projects
that we're undertaking today.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Absolutely, And you know, in what it is that you shared,
you spoke about solutions, and as you know, that's one
of the triads of the platform of this program, focused
on solutions, opportunities, and success and leaders like you, and
especially the City of Ontario hits everyone out of the park.
So Jennifer, tell us a little bit about what those
(04:47):
economic development goals or mission looks like for the residents
of the City of Ontario.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Yeah, so, really for economic development, and it's.
Speaker 5 (04:56):
One of those careers that wakes up and they think
I'm going to be an economic developer when I grow up.
But it's really a multifaceted career path and it involves
many different skills. But at its core, economic development is
all about improving the quality of life for residents, and
we do that through generating jobs, through generation of wealth
(05:16):
through sales tax, property tax, and really.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Uplifting the entire community.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
So that's what our focus is on, and I feel
very lucky within the City of Ontario to have a
city council who is ultimately responsible for setting that vision,
setting that tone, and then supporting the economic development initiatives.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
So when I look across Ontario and all of.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
The work that we do within economic development, we approach
it really through five main districts that we are focusing
our efforts on. And when I say we, I mean
truly it's the city council, it's the city manager, it's
the city staff, it's the vendors and consultants that support that.
(06:00):
There's a lot of people that go into to turning
a dream into a reality. So for the five different
districts that we have in Ontario, if you were to
look at Ontario as a whole, this is a big city.
It's about one hundred and eighty five thousand people. Our
budget is one billion dollars with a B, so it's
(06:21):
a billion dollar corporation. And really we're constantly being challenged
with how do we deliver better quality of services, better
quality of life, and better amenities to the residents and
the businesses that are here.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So I can launch.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Into all these projects, but I don't want to get too.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Far, too fast, right, So we're going to jump into
one of the primary projects that is everywhere you can
read about it, and that's Ontario Branch. And it's a
new development which is developing over twelve hundred homes a
year and it's been over one hundred years in the making,
with historical annexation as a milestone. Please expand on that
(07:04):
and how that integrates into your mission for the City
of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Yes, I'm so glad that you brought up Ontario Ranch
the city as a whole. Like you mentioned, it's one
hundred and twenty five years old, and if you were
to just kind of cut a line through the city
north of the sixty Freeway is where Ontario and its
borders generally are, and that's where we have it's been
about one hundred and fifty thousand population or so, but
(07:30):
south of the sixty and I'm just kind of using generalities,
but south of the sixty Freeway this was former dairy
farm and it was annex about twenty to twenty five
years ago. But with dairy farm also comes with.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Not much, not a lot of infrastructure.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Really land, but it needed to be developed and so
over the past twenty years there's been a consortium of
developers that have come together with support from the city
and of course the vision from the City Council to
invest in the Ontario Ranch. And if you were to
drive through today or even I love to drive from
(08:11):
City Hall which is in downtown off a Euclid, you
go all the way south on Euclid and you experience
many different cities, so you have like your kind of
beautiful downtown. You drive past the sixty freeway. Suddenly you
see some of the dairies. Then you see some of
the very large industrial buildings. And when I say large,
(08:33):
I mean large. For example, Ontario now has the world's
largest Amazon facility at four million square feet, and what
that looks like is they went vertical and there are
about eleven million square feet of industrial development that's brand
new in South Ontario. But then you keep on driving
(08:54):
and you start to see things like homes, and these
are new single family homes. As you said, twelve hundred
new single family homes each year being built. But on
top of that, the city's delivering services. So what that
means is it's not just the infrastructure, the sewer or
the water mains, but it's also parks. There's a three
(09:15):
hundred acre grand park right now. We have one hundred
and twenty acres of that is that the city owns.
It's being graded and it's under construction right now. We
also have schools, fire houses, there'll be a police sub station,
so there's a lot.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
It's not just.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
The development of homes or the development of industrial buildings
or office parks or new restaurants. It really is a
city within a city that is being constructed as we speak.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
That is remarkable. And so I would like you to
expand on some of the changing land use and regulations
and how you and your office help to accommodate and support,
you know, the developers that are developing on this land.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Within economic development is really to help make it as
easy as possible, as predictable as possible, and to step
in where maybe the private market needs a little bit
of support. But we are but one agency within the
City of Ontario.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Credit.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
I'll give credit where credit is due, and our Community
Development department. Those are where the city planners and our
building officials are and many other divisions. But it's really
the city planners who have set the stage for zoning
codes and really making those.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Urban planning decisions. How far should an.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Industrial building be located next to our residential development, Where
should you put parks, Where is the highest invest use
to place retail and office businesses? So the planning team
has really set that foundation, and where economic development has
come forward is as I mentioned, to try to step
(10:59):
in and help make development.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
A little bit easier.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
We also are in the business of acquiring land, and
we acquire this land oftentimes so that we can build
on other developments. And so one of those we have
a very large development underway, which I think we'll talk about.
But this is the Sports Empire and it's located on
the very north section of Ontario Ranch. This was property
(11:27):
that up until a couple of years ago, was dairy
farm the city.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
This was just two and a half years ago.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
The city acquired two hundred acres for the development of
a regional sports complex anchored by a minor league baseball stadium.
And when we talked about some of the extraordinary things
that Ontario is doing, this sports empire is one of them,
and that's where economic development was very involved on the upstart.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Well, you know you mentioned very much. It's a team effort, right,
So it's a multifaceted approach to have these projects come
together and move smoothly, trying to create as predictable of
an environment as possible. Please speak to the visionary leadership
that set out to build an entirely new city within
Ontario's boundaries.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Yeah, so we are, and I'll say it probably many
times today, but we're very lucky in Ontario to have
a city council that has a very strong vision. They're
very pro development. They have been on this council for
many years. They have tried and true relationships and what
that consistency and reliability has has done for the city
(12:37):
is it's make it. It's making it or has made
it that much easier to move forward with our development plans.
But we also have a city manager, as I mentioned,
Scott o'choa. He has he has a very strong vision
as well. And then, of course we have our residents
who want these amenities and who are asking for these amenities,
(13:00):
and if it were not for the residents and their support,
none of this would be made possible. One example of
that was actually the passage of Measure Q.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
So Measure Q was a full sense.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Tax, and this was proved on April.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
First, twenty twenty three.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
When that was approved, it was it was expected that
through this full sent sales tax, we would get one
hundred million dollars a year a new revenue, and all
of that revenue would go back into city services, things
like enhanced storm drains, homeless services, better community center improvements,
(13:41):
and of course things like the amenities I get the
sports empire, and the leadership of the city was very
deliberate and laying out what these projects were. But even
more impressive is that we've delivered in just two years time.
We have been able to acquire property, start construction, in
(14:03):
some cases complete construction on these major public improvement projects,
and it's been pretty extraordinary to watch this development.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
It absolutely has been a truly extraordinary feat to watch
how smoothly, how quickly, and how efficiently these projects are
really taking life. And earlier you mentioned one of the
goals of economic development is improving the quality of life
for the residents in Ontario and surrounding communities. So talk
about how these new projects are improving the quality of
(14:36):
life for residents.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Yes, so there's a few few different ways. So the
first is that I mean and I mentioned a few
different projects. So the Continuum of Care Campus, so this
is intended to be a wrap around service for homeless
and those in need.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
The city has.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
We're setting up shop right now for a temporary Continuum
of Care access center. We've since acquired property to develop
a full and permanent Conteam of Care campus.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
This is a forty eight million.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
Dollar development and again it was made possible in large
part because of Measure Q. But if you're to drive
around the city, you would also see that there's a
lot of construction, everything from storm drain projects that are underway,
new and improved civic campus and downtown facilities as well
(15:31):
from parking structures to support on this on mobility, and
then we are also seeing other projects like around some
of the big assets that the city already has, the
Toyota Arena expansion near the Convention Center, and then of
course the Ontario Sports Complex. So these are all developments
(15:53):
that are happening in real time. But it's not just
that the City of Ontario is taking the lead on it.
We're seeing that there's other relationships to that have supported
some of the improvement throughout Ontario. And one of the
examples of that, and if you've driven up and down
Hole you will have seen it is the San Bernardino
(16:14):
County Transportation Authority. They're currently developing a center running line bus.
It's a zero emission bus. All of that construction that
you see on hold, that's what that is. SBCTA acquired
about two hundred pieces of property so they can push
the easements back and make way for this transit corridor
(16:37):
and that is underway now and will certainly improve the
accessibility along Hope Boulevard and the look and feel.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I'm so excited. I'm thrilled to see those projects, you know,
come to life and be completed. But you also mentioned
the Sports Empire and Ontario. Please expand on that and
what the community can see in its features and as
it comes along and is completely built out.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Yeah, so we are coming off a high in the
City of Ontario. So just last week as part of
the one of the tenants that will be in the
Sports Empire will be our new Single A Dodger affiliate.
We launched the name on Thursday. It's the Ontario Tower Buzzers.
That's paying homage to of course our strong aviation tie
(17:26):
and a little bit of play with.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Top Gun there. But the Single A Dodger affiliate Tower Buzzers.
They are slated to open.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
The stadium will be complete and they will be playing
April second six, So we've all been marching forward this
big day for opening day.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
But the Sports.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
Complex is not just about this minor league baseball stadium,
professional baseball stadium, and by the way, it will be
the best stadium in the country, and I cannot wait
to see the final product. But that is going to
be the anchor of the sports complex in total.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Though.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
This is going to be a.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
Facility that will bring in new soccer fields, baseball, softball,
football fields. It is really intended to be a youth
sports mecca. We expect about one point two million visitors
a year, but of course it is an amenity to
our residents as well, so we will have the sports
(18:25):
amenities there. We will have the baseball stadium, and then
we are also looking at developing the area near the
stadium village to offer more retail opportunities, not just for
the folks that attend the sports complex, but also who
live nearby. I mean, the reality is that we still
(18:46):
need a lot more, many more amenities within Ontario Ranch,
and this will help provide some great places to eat
and enjoy.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Well. That's absolutely exciting. So everybody that heard, mark your
calendars because opening day for the Tower Buzzers will be
April second, twenty twenty six. We want you to come up,
show up and visit the best stadium built in the country.
I'm absolutely thrilled. And as a soccer mom of three
who spent ten years, you know, raising three kids in soccer,
(19:19):
it's exciting and thrilling to see that the availability of
those fields are going to grow exponentially. So now it
won't be a question of gosh, where can they play
their games or where can they conduct their practices. You're
going to have a huge plethora of opportunities for the
community to come and engage and continue that healthy activity
and lifestyle across various sports. So very thrilled about that.
(19:44):
But talk about some of the new businesses that are
coming into Ontario, and I know a lot of them
are surrounding logistics and distribution.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
That's right. So Ontario is lucky in that it has
a diverse economic face. Of course, we're very strong and
logistics in distribution, and that is in large part because
of the.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Ontario International Airport.
Speaker 5 (20:09):
The story of the airport again, I mean this is
it's more than one hundred years old, but to some
extent it's a bit like a startup. The airport successfully
broke away from Los Angeles World Airports almost ten years ago,
and during that time they have continued to secure.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
New flights, new direct flights.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
Improve their terminals and they're now one of the nation's
top cargo airports and you can see the benefits throughout Ontario.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Ontario International Airport also.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Has they own property and so they have new development
that's happening surrounding either end of the airport. They currently
have a very large industrial park that is under construction.
This is by McDonald's property and they're developing these tiltups
now and are.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Starting to secure leases.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
But as I mentioned, Ontario Ranch also has a number
of new logistics businesses.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
There's a very large.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
Industrial park developed by pro logists and also developer Rita
and this is where you see tenants like Lululemon, Home Depot, Nike.
They are these are you know, the top corporate names
located within Ontario. I think there's a big misconception too
about about logistics, and there's a concern that they're moving
(21:42):
toward automation and that means there's no jobs. But they
are very strong employment based for not just the city
of Ontario, but for our entire region. Amazon, for example,
I'd mentioned we have the largest Amazon facility in the world,
their distribution center. That facility in employees two thousand people
and those are two thousand people that need places to
(22:05):
eat or to who come into Ontario for work, and
we need those We need those sales tax dollars. The
other thing about some of these logistics companies too is
that these are great stable property tax generators. And when
we look I had mentioned before, Ontario has a billion
dollar budget, and this budget ultimately goes back into paying
(22:29):
for services for residents, that's police, fire, your utilities, and
we are constantly looking at how do we improve and
upgrade all of those amenities. When you have a strong
property tax base, a strong sales tax base, which, by
the way, the Ontario Mills continues to do phenomenally well
(22:52):
and they're one of our top sales tax revenue generator.
The stronger we are on property, sales tax and even
transit occupants tax like for hotels, then the more that
we can reinvest back into the community. So I'm sorry
I went.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Three or four different directions there.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
It's just there's the Ontario economy is continues to perform
in very strong well.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
It's very exciting because there's just so much to talk about,
so much growth across every facet. When you're talking about
those different tax spaces and how they help to allow
the city to reinvest into the community, A lot of
that also leads itself into the infrastructure and allows it,
you know, the rapid development to continue. So talk about
(23:37):
some of the other infrastructure that maybe residents don't see
that benefits them on a daily basis.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
Yes, So I talked a little bit about Hope Boulevard
and what we're doing there through SBCTA.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
There's also some other major projects throughout I mean really
throughout this city.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
I guess I do want to talk a minute about
downtown Ontario, and that's another I think it's a special
place for many people. I mean, you think about where
you go when you want to spend your weekends, and
historic charming downtown is always something that.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Is savored and enjoyed.
Speaker 5 (24:20):
When you go up and down Euclid Avenue within downtown Ontario,
it's a it can be a confusing experience because you
see these beautiful buildings, they're historic. You see a beautiful median,
historic median as well, that's where they used to have
the the mule car. But some of the downtown businesses
(24:44):
are vacant, and what the city has started to do
is acquire some of these buildings because you've had unreinforced
masonry or property owners who really just can't afford to
update their buildings.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Rather than wait for the private.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Market to fix itself, the city has started to take control.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
So if you were to drive up.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
And down Euclid today, you would see several projects. One
of them is we just completed our first mixed use development.
Accompanying that was a there's also a city parking structure,
which I know does not sound that that's special, but
I will tell.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
You that in every story.
Speaker 5 (25:27):
Of a revitalization in downtown's It starts with a few things,
and parking structures seem to be one of them, and
that's something that is a city can definitely can do.
So we have our quote sea block development that's underway
now on Euclid itself. The city actually took control of
that street that was a cow Trans operated facility. The
(25:49):
city will now look at doing things like streetcy synchronization,
how do you slow down traffic, how do you how
do you improve the sidewalks so it's more pedestrian friendly experience.
These are just they sound small, they're but they will
go a long way.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
I'm excited to expand more on that after our break. Jennifer,
thank you so much, everybody who's listening. Stand By Yvette
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here today with Jennifer Maclain Hiramoto, Ontario's executive director of
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Speaker 3 (29:51):
Welcome back everyone, Evett Walker with ABC News and Talks
Southern California Business Report here today with Jennifer McLain Hiramoto,
Ontario Executive director of Economic Development and chair of the
California Association for Local Economic Development, who drives real organization
and business growth. With fifteen years in public service, her
(30:11):
leadership from Glendale to Ontario is shaping resilient, prosperous communities
across California. Thank you again for sharing your time and
your work with us today.
Speaker 5 (30:21):
Jennifer, Thank you, Avet. It's my pleasure to be here.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
So prior to the break, you started going into the
evolution of downtown Ontario and how that dynamic is shifting.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
Yes, so, as I was mentioning, everybody loves to enjoy
an authentic historic downtown, but historic downtowns are also just
like the name suggests, they're old, and sometimes those buildings
need a little bit of TLC, and with TLC that
also means you need resources and development partners and the
(30:55):
right tenants to go in. So rather than continue to
wait for the problem to fix itself, the city has
gone in and started to invest, including acquiring property, trying
to partner with the right development partners, and even doing
small things like One example is the city can buy
(31:15):
property a lot faster than it can redevelop it. It
takes time to go through that process to find the
right development partner, go through development lands, et cetera. One
of the properties that we acquired, it's the former Gemels
Pharmacy building on Nuclid Avenue, and we have while we're
working with the development partner, we've had these vacant storefronts
(31:39):
and the city ended up doing a pop up retail program.
We actually put it out there to the universe and
we offered one dollar free rent. It was an application
basis and it was for a six month term, but
really we were looking for certain retailers who would be
able to go in there on a short timeframe. They'd
(31:59):
be able to test their idea in the market, and
they'd also be doing the city of favor by really
having somebody activate the storefront and it also helps avoid transience.
So we have since launched this program, it's been very successful.
We've also been able to secure some tenants full time
(32:19):
and it's actually one of our pop up locations where
you can buy merch for the tower buzzers. But it's
just it's small things like this as well that ultimately
go a long way as a city is working on
really a long term revitalization strategy for downtown Ontario.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
I just love that strategy because it's basically a real
time incubator for businesses that have, you know, have the
opportunity to really test their ideas as you mentioned, and
grow and be a part of that fabric and downtown
experience in Ontario. Absolutely forward thinking and innovative as always
for the City of Ontario, So that's exciting to learn about,
(32:58):
but also talk about some of the major development projects
that are emerging around two to Arena transforming the entertainment landscape.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
Yes, so I had mentioned it briefly before. Our City
council has made some very bold moves during their tenures
and one of them is they've delivered on big assets
like convention centers and the arena, their support of the
Ontario International Airport, and then of course I've talked about
the stadium. But one of the challenges that we've seen,
(33:29):
or I guess opportunities, is that the Toyota Arena is
a great example. You have an eleven thousand seat arena,
one of the top performing arenas of its size across
the nation, but there remains an opportunity to develop around it.
If you were to go to the arena, there aren't
that many places where you can grab a drink or
(33:50):
grab a bike before or after, although I will do
a plug for Eureka Burger across the street at the
Element if you haven't been there. So the city has
partnered up with a depth development and they are a
part of the solution. So they've broken ground. They're in
their first phase right now. At total buildout, they will
develop seventy thousand square feet of new commercial and about
(34:13):
seven hundred residential units. And this is exactly the type
of development that we need to be able to complete
that entire vision of supporting this entertainment district. There's big
plans to for even areas further surrounding the Toyota Arena,
but the area as a whole, we've also seen new
(34:33):
development emerge. We have Lewis Lewis Homes, They've just completed
a great retail center and they have plans for future
homes new home. They also added about two hundred new
homes like their name suggests, near the arena. And then
we continue to see development pop up throughout that district.
(34:55):
And this is also a great compliment to what our
neighbors in the north are doing in Rancho Cucamonga. Truly,
the high Tide rises all and what Rancho Cucamonga has
done and be able to secure the bright line will
also benefit the Ontario Entertainment District and Ontario as a whole.
So it's the Certainly the Entertainment District is a place
(35:18):
to watch, it's a place to invest if listeners are hearing,
and soon we a great place to eat in grab
a cocktail.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Absolutely doubtedly so, Jennifer. And with that said, I just
want to point out, as you mentioned, you know, having
a neighboring city and working with them and you know,
elevating and leveraging those assets together is another innovative and
exceptional way that I have seen not only a city
of Ontario, but surrounding communities like Rancho, Fontana, rialto upland
(35:48):
all come together to find the common ground and the
you know, elevation of that common rising tide. So hats
off to you. And my next question is, as the
chair of cal ed, how do other city leaders look
at the progress and innovation of Ontario in relation to
the work within their own communities.
Speaker 5 (36:10):
So a couple of things.
Speaker 4 (36:11):
I will go back one step.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
I wish I could take credit for this, I absolutely can't.
I'm just lucky to be able to ride the wave
our city council and city leadership. They have been at
this for a long time and I'm just standing on
the shoulders of giants and it is truly it's a
very special time to be part of this organization. I'm
really grateful to them for that. This is also a
(36:35):
very special time for the Inland Empire. And as you
were mentioning, I mean our neighbors throughout the Inland Empire.
Oftentimes it seems like we're a bit of the underdog,
right We're compared to County of Los Angeles, maybe the
counties to the south of US. But this is really
the Inland Empire's time to shine. And you see some
(36:56):
of the challenges that certainly the City of La and
the County of La are going through. One of them
is affordable housing, and housing within the Inland Empire, just
by its nature is already more affordable where we are
in the marketplace. And what we see is that there
continues to be this migration from folks in Los Angeles
(37:19):
County who have discovered the Inland Empire and they've realized
they can.
Speaker 12 (37:23):
Get more a larger home at a better price and
a higher quality of life than maybe what they were experiencing.
Speaker 5 (37:34):
And I think that that is a sentiment that we
see across the Inland Empire, and it really is us
as the Inland Empire region trying to deliver a better
quality of life for people who have lived here for
a long time, but also who are perhaps looking for
something different.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
So I see that.
Speaker 5 (37:55):
You know, there's always a friendly competition with some of
our neighboring counties, but I can see that naturally, Ontario
in particular is very poised for success just because of
where we are geographically.
Speaker 3 (38:11):
Well so, as a resident myself of the Inland Empire
for twenty five years, which is actually relatively new. When
you speak to some residents that are actually multi generational,
it's exciting to see the support that you're getting. And
as you mentioned, the time to shine, so everyone can
really bask in that light. Speak to the residence sentiment
(38:33):
and how they embrace the city's ongoing evolution and transformation.
So I'll use a.
Speaker 5 (38:41):
Couple of examples just to kind of highlight where I
think resident sentiment is at, though I do not want
to speak for all residents, but this is just kind
of the litmus test. The first was the passage of
Measure Q. The facts, the fact that residents came out
to support measure queue of full scent sales tax shows
(39:04):
that they were in support and believe that their city
leadership would be able to do what they said they would.
And if you were to drive out throughout Ontario today
and you see the amount of development that is occurring,
the amount of infrastructure that is being installed in storm drains,
or even at the Sports Empire where you can see
this stadium being built in real time, the city delivers,
(39:27):
and I think that that goes a long way. I'll
also just mentioned that you know, we're coming off of
a big week last week with the brand launch and
then of course our Cruise and Reunion event which celebrates
classic cars in our downtown. But at the brand launch alone,
we're estimating that there were about eight thousand people.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
Those are eight thousand.
Speaker 5 (39:48):
Passionate local Dodgers fans that came out and they're excited
to share in this moment with us. And if that's
any indication of what we can expect at this stadium
in the future, then I think that that we're onto something.
I mean, this is beyond it's a new it's not
only a new era of baseball for our community, but
it truly is uh, there's something in the air, and
(40:10):
it's all and it's good, and it's exciting and and
and really, I mean, the residents do have a lot
to be excited about. They also will likely see their
their property values increase as a result of all this development.
And then the city is continuing to look to ways
too to support new new homeowners through right now we're
(40:31):
doing a pilot project to support new first time home buyers.
So with all of this development happening, it is also
with the mindset that we want to provide services for
everybody that is within our community certainly.
Speaker 3 (40:48):
And you know, one of the beautiful things about the
community that is being built is that you can live,
work and play right there in the community in which
you live, and you don't have to go far to
do so and enjoy that quality of life. But with
you know, those big draws like the Toyota Arena, like
the Tower buzzers, like the Ontario.
Speaker 5 (41:10):
Rain, the Empire Strikers.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
In all of those entertainment and sports draws that really
encourage not only local residents but surrounding members of the
community to come out to Ontario. Talk about the transit
and occupancy tax and how that becomes an important revenue
for the City of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (41:31):
Yeah, so tourism is also a very important part of
our local economy here. And as I mentioned, the city
council has made these decisions to invest in.
Speaker 4 (41:42):
The Toyota Arena, the Convention Center.
Speaker 5 (41:45):
This is a two hundred and fifty thousand square foot
convention center that is busy year round. And then of
course we have the airport soon our stadium, and then
we have hotels. We have about fifty hotels within the
City of Ontario, and we actually have a visitors in
convention bureau. It's called go KEL and we're in partner
(42:05):
partnership with the city of rancho and together GOKEL with
rancho Is it uses funds to help market our area
to future to tourists. But the other important element, just
to highlight is that cities typically they do not generate
(42:26):
They do not develop convention centers because they're going to
make money off of the convention center. What they're really
trying to do is generate economic impact. It's the folks
who are going to stay at the hotel who are
going to shop local. Maybe they'll go to the mills afterwards,
they'll dine locally. That's where you end up generating your
revenue in Ontario with the hotels that we do have
(42:47):
right now tot transit occupancy tax, so you pay a
little fee. You know many cities do this. You pay
a little fee when you pay your tab at the hotels.
This up generating about seventeen million dollars a year in
revenue for the city, which again is an important generator
to our overall tax base. And what's great about that
(43:09):
is that's not a tax that's really imposed on local
on city or excuse me, on city residents. But that
really is a fee that is being placed on those
who are from out of town. So we continue to
add more hotel stock. There's a couple of hotels that
are under development right now, including we have a dual
(43:30):
brand high Att.
Speaker 4 (43:31):
Place Hyatt House just off of Inland Empire in.
Speaker 5 (43:34):
Archibald if you've ever, if you've noticed it just north
of the ten Freeway that's under construction now. We recently
did a development agreement for another potential six hundred key
hotel near the Convention Center. And then we also have
a hotel that is being proposed near the stadium as well,
in addition to about maybe four or five others that
(43:56):
are in the pipeline. So these are the hotel development
and offerings that we have in Ontario are continuing to
expand and to grow.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Oh my goodness, so exciting. And we're going to have
to continue this conversation because we're just skimming the top.
But Jennifer, please share with us how it feels to
be standing on the shoulders of giants and spearheading these
projects and making sure everything goes, you know, is completed
without a hitch. So you.
Speaker 5 (44:24):
I'm always cautious to take credit for the spearheading part.
You know, again, I'm just I'm just riding the wave.
And so my objective is just try to keep pace right,
just try to keep up with the city council and
our city manager and our assistant city manager, try to
keep up with the development community with what their needs are,
and just keep going. We have a lot of progress
(44:48):
that we're seeing in a very short amount of time.
And you'd asked before about my experience on kaled and
how does Ontario compare with perhaps some of the other cities.
I will say that Ontario gets a lot of a
lot of recognition for our efforts, and I do think
that we are among an elite group of cities throughout
(45:11):
the state that are really pushing forward for development at
this pace and this scale. And there's I think a
few reasons why that is all happening right now, and
one of it, again, it goes back to the city council,
its vision, the city leadership with our city manager and
assistant city manager. It goes back to the resources that
(45:34):
we have, our economic stability and diversity. But most certainly
it goes back to the residents and their trusts in
their local government. If we didn't have those and the
final component of actually delivering on these projects, we wouldn't
be able to move forward with anything else. And so
(45:54):
I think about some of the other cities up and
down the state that are also doing extraordinary things. And
you know, some of it too, is in preparation for
the Olympics, and we all have kind of this outside
date of twenty twenty eight coming up. That adds a
little bit of a sense of urgency too. I mean we,
as I mentioned, we want to catch the wave. We
(46:16):
want to be able to welcome these visitors, these international visitors,
to put our city on display, put our region on display,
put our best foot forward. So all of this is
deeply motivating. We have three years to go, but that
is ultimately what drives me and drives a lot of
what we do in Ontario.
Speaker 3 (46:37):
I love it, you know, Jennifer. I love your responses
because despite the fact that I just get so excited
and thrilled to talk about how in your position you
are a part of spearheading this, you always are grounded
and say, you know what, I'm just part of the team.
It takes the village to really make this all happen.
And that's exactly the mindset, the attitude, and just the
(46:58):
frame of mind that has made these efforts so successful
and what has been so unique in the region that
we see today. So with that said, Jennifer, what is
next for the city of Ontario.
Speaker 5 (47:12):
Oh okay, this is a fun question. Well, I will say,
and I was just reflecting because we've we've had some
big dates coming up and we have some big projects
that are are in the works right So as far
as what's next, I mean this sports complex. I encourage
anybody who wants to drive out to see the stadium
(47:35):
off of Riverside. It's under construction and it's almost done.
And what you'll notice is that there is a scoreboard
that looks awfully familiar, just like the one that you
would see at Dodgers Stadium. So you can drive by.
If you see that, you know you're in the right place.
But in the next few months, so we will see
the completion of the stadium, the sports complex, those youth
(47:58):
fields is that will trail a few months later. So
that will be delivered in about October of twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (48:04):
Hope Bulevard.
Speaker 5 (48:06):
I'm just gonna go up north a little bit. Hope
Bulevard will be under construction still for at least another
eighteen months. But that progress, it's a little painful right now.
The life hack is Drive up Sultana. But so while
that's going on, you're also going to see some of
the openings of projects like the Hyatt House, Hyatt Place
(48:27):
I mentioned off of Archibald, the Ontario Mills.
Speaker 3 (48:31):
You know that is.
Speaker 5 (48:33):
There's always a lot of speculation about what is the
future of malls in America. The Mills continues to do well.
They also continue to look at how do they reinvent
themselves and so there might be some new development surrounding
the Ontario Mills. I'm just traveling all across the city
(48:53):
in my mind right now. You will see the development
around the arena continue to progress. So it's about an
eighteen month construction. We probably have another year on that.
It will also include a beautiful new plaza, which I
did not talk about, but that is another investment by
the city between the adept development and the arena, and
you'll probably see a bunch of new restaurants that you've
(49:15):
been dying to try. So there are there really is
just a progress at every turn. In addition to all
really then that's in bolts of what cities do too,
street projects, pavement infrastructure. I mean, all of this is
happening in real time and so if you have a
little bit of a delay because of a construction, it'll
(49:39):
be worth.
Speaker 3 (49:39):
It absolutely well. Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing
your work and you know, elevating that message and putting
us in the know as to what is happening in
the City of Ontario and how it benefits not only
the local residents but the region as a whole.
Speaker 5 (49:56):
It is really my pleasure. I cannot wait to see
every body at the official opening in April second, twenty
twenty six for our Ontario Tower Buzzers. But yes, there's
a lot to be excited about in not just Ontario,
but in the Inland Empire. This is truly an exciting
time and I'm just lucky to be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
And before we go, Jennifer, please share the best way
to connect with the City of Ontario, your Economic Department
for anybody that's listening that wants to launch a business
in Ontario and discover the resources available.
Speaker 5 (50:30):
Yes, so we have a website. You can always go
to Ontario Thanks Business dot com. Of course, we have
our LinkedIn which is an Ontario Economic Development agency, and
the City of Ontario as well as Ontario Economic Development.
Speaker 4 (50:46):
We have a very strong.
Speaker 5 (50:48):
Social We're strong on social, so you can follow the
City of Ontario, you can follow the Economic Development Department,
that's the Ontario EDA. On our Instagram, we always post
some cool reels about what's happening with our new businesses
and what's to come in the city. So those are
a few different ways. And then of course make sure
(51:11):
to follow the Ontario Tower buzzers and you can find
out more about what's happening with the team.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
So excited. Thank you again, Jennifer, and we'll follow up
again to track some of these projects that are, as
you said in evolving in lifetime. So thank you so
much for that.
Speaker 5 (51:31):
It is my pleasure. I'm happy to share the story
of Ontario and can't wait to see what's next, all right, So.
Speaker 3 (51:37):
For everybody else, thank you so for everyone listening. Don't
forget to find us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Check us out on SCBR talk dot com, and don't
miss my conversation with Sheriff Shannon Dikis. We're in the
vast expanse of San Bardino County, the nation's largest by land.
He leads a dedicated force safeguarding more than two point
(51:59):
one million lives with unwavering resolve. His department's forty two
hundred professionals and fifteen hundred and fifty two volunteers stand
sentinel with eight county and fourteen contract patrol stages, forging
partnerships that foster hope, opportunity, and progress. Backed by an
eight hundred million dollar budget, their mission transcends mere law enforcement,
(52:21):
reflecting a commitment to building safer, stronger communities in one
of America's most dynamic regions. Next week, we will have
Christine Scott, regional public Affairs manager for SoCal Gas, who
wields her influence across the Inland empire as both a
corporate leader and elected Rancho Cucamonga City council member. Renowned
for championing public affairs, Scott's leadership extends to presiding over
(52:45):
regional organizations and driving award winning community initiatives. Her extensive
experience in strategic communications and civic service has earned her
top statewide honors, making her a pivotal force shaping Southern
California's future. You do not want to miss it.
Speaker 13 (53:00):
We will see you all next week.
Speaker 8 (53:31):
This has been the Southern California Business.
Speaker 1 (53:33):
Report with Evatt Walker on k e T fourteen ninety am,
FM ninety eight point one and ABC News Radio affiliate,
A show dedicated to highlighting successfu
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