The City of Fontana has been awarded funding from the State of California to support the planning of a major redevelopment of the downtown core, featuring expanded arts and cultural venues, an anchor hotel, new stores, restaurants and microbreweries, and affordable and market-rate housing to serve the fastest-growing city in San Bernardino County.

Fontana has been awarded $3 million in alignment with Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes’ support of California Arts Council initiatives to help underserved cities committed to building a creative economy around their rich cultural opportunities, establishing themselves as a destination and promoting new business development. This money will be used to plan and design essential infrastructure improvements to enhance pedestrian access and safety, promote public safety and support economic development in the downtown area.

“We are so appreciative of the work by Assemblymember Reyes and all of our advocates in securing this critical early funding for the redevelopment of our downtown core. We see tremendous opportunities ahead of us to build a unique experience for our residents, businesses, and visitors, while creating thousands of jobs and establishing Fontana as the region’s premier destination,” said Mayor Acquanetta Warren.

“I was happy to secure $3 million of state budget funding for Fontana’s downtown development plan and $2 million for San Bernardino County’s Crisis Residential Treatment Facility in Fontana,” said Assembly Majority Leader Emeritus Reyes. “The city’s plan reflects its cultural diversity and sense of community, and will therefore further establish its downtown area as a regional destination. Furthermore, the commercial development aspects of the plan will bring important economic benefits to the Inland Empire, while the County’s treatment facility will ensure quality mental health care for local residents. I thank Gov. Gavin Newsom and my legislative colleagues for joining me in supporting these endeavors.”

The downtown revitalization will be a major economic and cultural driver for the city and the Inland Empire, one of the most robust population and economic centers in the United States. Fontana itself is home to more than 210,000 residents and is expected to grow by another 75,000 by 2045, according to the Southern California Association of Governments.

The vision to upgrade cultural assets within Fontana’s downtown core will give residents and visitors even more reason to experience downtown. The city continues prioritized funding opportunities to mitigate barriers of entry for new developments of an anchor hotel and multi-story office spaces with lower-level retail, restaurants and microbreweries. 

Cultural development will include expansion of municipal properties such as Center Stage, Art Depot, Miller Amphitheater, a Children’s Museum, a multi-tenant Food Lab and restaurant incubator, and public art displays.