VBJ October

THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
20 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com
October 2018
REGIONAL IDENTITY DRIVES ECONOMY
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Home to over a half million people
and with nearly 3 million people visiting
each year, Southwest Riverside
County area cities in partnership with
the County of Riverside are aiming to
collectively promote the area in an effort
to attract talent, investment and new
companies to the region. This equates
to more job opportunities locally and
less people commuting long hours to
work outside of the region. A win-win
situation that Southwest Riverside City
Officials are very interested in pursuing.
Four industry experts presented
testimonials on the need of a more
regional identity: Jeff Kurtz, General
Manager of Promenade Mall (retail);
Greg Morrison, Government Relations
Officer at Elsinore Valley Municipal
Water District (EVMWD—utilities);
Gene Wunderlich, Southwest Riverside
County Association of Realtors (real
estate); and John Mueller, Business
Development for Truax Companies
(commercial development). Each city
in the region had council members,
elected officials and staff attending the
meeting. “The turnout was more than
encouraging,” said Doug McAllister,
the Director of the Economic Development
Coalition and the moderator
of the meeting.
“Who are we?” was the question
presented by McAllister. “Are we the
Inland Empire?” A resounding “No!”
filled the room. Then, he urged, “just
who are we? We’re cheerleaders for our
area,” he said, “but we don’t know how
to answer that question. That’s what
this meeting is for—to see if there’s
a consensus for a regional branding
initiative that will define who we are,
which ultimately leads to job creation
for our residents. Regional identity
assists the region and elevates it, highlighting
what makes this region such a
great place to invest, build a business,
and to thrive.”“We’re operating as one
economy,” said John Mueller. “We’re
often seen as one trade area. There
are 23 million people within a 2-hour
drive of us and we’re still missing that
valuable label for this area.”
Jeff Kurtz added that it is always
difficult when he and his team are
talking to potential clients because in
general, they don’t know what area of
the country he’s talking about. “Our retailers
don’t understand who we are when
we say, ‘Temecula.’” Kurtz continued,
“Recent research has shown that we are
considered ‘young,’ there’s tremendous
potential for growth, but they discount
us just because they don’t understand
who we are.”
Greg Morrison explained how his
company covers about 100 square miles
of the region, which either includes every
city, or neighbors up with them. Morrison
continued, “Outside of this area, potential
employees see us as the ‘I.E.’ But a huge
problem exists with that because the
‘I.E.’ includes San Bernardino County,
as well as Riverside County, and that
term is tainted and doesn’t represent our
area.” He went on to add “that the human
resources department of EVMWD has the
hardest job because when they go to other
areas seeking qualified job candidates,
they face the same questions, “Where are
you? Are you part of San Bernardino?”
“All the cities have done great jobs in
branding themselves individually, as well
as EVMWD; however, a regional brand
would give us the power to reach out
and help people understand what we’re
a part of.”
Gene Wunderlich estimated that
there are 9,000 real estate agents within
the five-city area represented by the
Southwest Riverside County Association
of Realtors. Wunderlich conveyed to the
group, “that the difficulties in real estate
include lumping this region in with all of
Riverside and San Bernardino counties;
especially, when we visit Sacramento or
Washington DC.” Wunderlich continued,
“San Bernardino County, for example,
has a median home value of $265,000,
and while median prices in Riverside
County are more like $400,000—in this
region they are even higher.”
Wunderlich explained to the group
that lenders are required to follow the
conforming loan limits when going for a
loan. The cap for such a loan in Riverside
County is $453,100, while the limit in
San Diego County is $649,750. So, even
though you could find a home here for a
lower amount, you can’t get a conforming
loan for it [the limit at which a lender
can make a loan under Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac]. Wunderlich stated, “This
makes it much more difficult for even
established families to move here, and
that is a big problem. “With a 1.5 million
home deficit in California, we need the
identity to ease the crunch, as Southwest
Riverside County is the housing market
for Orange County and San Diego.”
John Mueller continued the momentum
adding personal experience when
Truax wanted to secure financing outside
of the immediate area. They did eventually
receive financing, but it was a challenge
for their company. “Local banks can lend
up to about $20 million, but we needed
more than that. And who wants to believe
that a $100 million hotel is a good idea
in a city of 100,000 residents? We had
to prove there’s a demand for such a
hotel by showing that we are more than
just Temecula. There are no comps here
for luxury hotels, no comps for the kind
of marketplace we’re talking about and
no comps for automated parking,” said
Mueller.
“We’re all the five cities coalesced
together. Once we described the outstanding
merits of each city and explained
that there are three million visitors a year
here bringing in over $721 million in
tourist dollars. Then they got over the
initial question of, ‘where are you again?’
Council members ended the discussion
with comments and statements about the
need for a regional branding.
Jonathan Ingram, the Mayor of
Murrieta, said, “we are the last bastion of
development between the coast and San
Bernardino. This region is exploding. We
need to be ready for what is headed our
way. We need to make this investment
and we need to make it now.”
Rick Gibbs, City of Murrieta added
to Ingram’s statement, “the Inland Empire
perception is negative because of the
lower education and demographics of
San Bernardino County and parts of
Riverside County. But, in a demographic
sense, we’re really an extension of
San Diego County.”
Steve Manos, Council member of
Lake Elsinore, contributed in agreement,
“we should’ve been doing this
a long time ago. Is it time now? My
answer is, ‘Hell Yes!’ This is incredibly
timely, incredibly important. I
would encourage all my colleagues to
participate in this.” Manos continued,
“If we’re going to spend the money, we
should; if we’re going to go ahead
and spend the money to get this out
there, we should.”
Matt Liesemeyer, Council member
of Menifee, “We all have an interest
in doing this [creating a regional
brand]; that’s why we’re here.” Jeff
Comerchero, Council member of
Temecula, “we’ve tried this before,
but now we are thinking differently.
We need to identify us as something
different, and we need to spend the
money to tell others. It’s time to do.”
Maryanne Edwards, City of Temecula:
“It’s up to us to define the regional
brand and then consistently use it for
the long term.”
In concluding the meeting,
McAllister said, “There are things
we want to accomplish in this region
that no city can do on its own. Each
city around the table has done amazing
work in getting their own brand
known. Now it’s time for the region
and in order to make this work, we
all must work together.”
Action items resulting from this
meeting included having the EDC
work with City Economic Development
Departments to put together
a Request for Proposals (RFP) for
regional branding to be released
within the next few months. For more
information on how to participate in
the RFP process, please contact the
Economic Development Coalition at
(951) 694-9800 or follow the website
at EDCswca.com for news and
announcements.
The EDC is a private/public partnership
that promotes Southwest
California regional economic development
through business retention
and development, job opportunities,
and related economic growth. The
EDC is dedicated to expanding the
competitive position of the regional
businesses in a global economy.
Rancho Dental to Host Veterans Appreciation Day on November 10th
A Day of FREE DENTISTRY to our Veterans!
Dr. Perry and Dr. Dan along with the
Rancho Dental team have been serving
the community since 1989. With 25
plus years of experience and the latest
technologies, Rancho Dental’s goal is
to provide the highest degree of oral
healthcare for their clients.
On November 10th Rancho Dental
in Temecula, CA will be providing a day
of FREE DENTISTRY to our Veterans
in appreciation of their service.
Space is limited. Complimentary
pre-consultation is required by appointment
3 weeks prior to event date.
Two step process includes pre-consultation
and appointment.
1. Appointment for pre-consultation
(3 weeks prior to November 10th)
A) At this appointment we will
diagnose treatment needed
B) Schedule appointment for November
10th
2. Arrive at your scheduled appointment
time on November 10th
If you know a deserving Veteran,
please have them contact Rancho
Dental!
Please call 951-699-4746 to make
initial pre-consultation appointment.
Rancho Dental, 29746 Rancho
California Road in Temecula.
concierge@ranchodental.net.
If you know a deserving
Veteran, please have them
contact Rancho Dental!