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PROJECT SHOWCASES - POMONA |
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In 2007, City of Pomona just approves their master plans on Pomona Redevelopment. Following is a preview of an article that talked about some of the details. POMONA AREA COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This analysis provides a profile of the City of Pomona in the current time frame, primarily from 2000 Census data, as background to the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis. The topics covered in the background data are geographic and socio-economic profile; industrial and employment profile; Pomona’s infrastructure; regional economic development resources; major development projects; and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis. Geographic and Socio-Economic Profile The City of Pomona, with an area of 22.85 square miles, is located at the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, surrounded by the cities of Claremont, La Verne, San Dimas, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Chino, Chino Hills and Montclair. It is the fifth most populous city in Los Angeles County. Pomona’s population density is three times that of Los Angeles County, but less than that of the City of Los Angeles. Its population is projected to increase by 22 percent by the year 2025. The racial and ethnic composition of Pomona is 65 percent Hispanic, 17 percent non-Hispanic white, 9 percent African American, and 9 percent other. One-third of its population is under age 18. In 2000, the average household size for Pomona was 3.8 persons, significantly higher than Los Angeles County (3.0) and California (2.9). Fifty-seven percent of housing in Pomona is owner-occupied, a proportion similar to that of California and higher than that of Los Angeles County. The rate of growth of new housing units in Pomona is lower than population growth, resulting in an overcrowding rate of 34.5 percent, significantly higher than the county and state. Pomona meets the eligibility requirements for Economic Development Administration assistance through its unemployment rate and its per-capita income. Forty-five percent of the population older than 25 years has less than a high school education, leading to problems in attracting high-skill and high wage jobs. Industrial and Employment Profile The largest industries in Pomona (by percentage of jobs) are manufacturing (21 percent), education, health, and social services (17 percent), retail trade (11 percent), and professional, scientific, management, and administration (9 percent). The health care and social assistance industry has the highest number of business establishments (276), followed closely by retail trade (274) and manufacturing (244). The presence of two well-regarded hospitals in Pomona could help attract more health industry businesses to the city. On average, employees in Pomona receive lower average wages than employees in Los Angeles County, but higher wages than the average of the Pomona Region comprised of the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, City of Industry, Diamond Bar, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucumonga, San Dimas, Upland, Walnut, and West Covina. The Pomona region holds a significantly greater share of establishments than Pomona in the industries of wholesale trade, retail trade, and construction. Pomona has a larger share of establishments than the region in education, health, and social services; finance, insurance, and real estate; other services, and local, state, and federal government. Infrastructure Pomona’s existing water infrastructure should be adequate through 2020. Existing sewer, electricity, and gas systems are adequate for current usage but may require increases in capacity if large scale development takes place in Pomona. Pomona has good access to multiple forms of transportation; five freeways, passenger bus and rail service, the seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Los Angeles International, Ontario, and John Wayne airports, and Brackett Field, a general aviation airport. Fairplex, located in Pomona, hosts more than three hundred events and three million visitors each year, making it a major economic engine for the city and the region. Regional Economic Development Resources Regional resources available to promote economic development in Pomona are the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, the Larta Institute, and the Southern California Biomedical Council. Major Development Projects Major development projects in Pomona include the recently completed Grove, Holt/Eleanor, and Design Control, Inc. residential projects; the Pomona Industrial Park; a Walgreen’s/McDonalds development; and the mixed-use Mission Promenade Phase I. Innovation Village will create a 65-acre mixed-use technology park on the Cal Poly Pomona campus to build a community of technology-based enterprises that will include incubator facilities for start-up businesses, multi-tenant research and development buildings, build-to-suit corporate offices, and supporting retail. Fairplex is developing a $10 million Trade and Conference Center which will provide a new attraction for Pomona and a resource for business and education with the Trade Pacifica symposium program. The Pomona Unified School District has developed several educational villages, containing both schools and businesses. The schools and businesses work together to foster successful smart schools, increase teaching and learning interactivity, establish data-driven practices, attract ongoing adequate resources, attract and retain high quality teaching personnel, develop and deploy technical resources effectively, create a sustainable community growing from an economic base driven by education, and mitigate problems of overcrowding in traditional schools. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis An analysis was done of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the economic health of the City of Pomona. The strengths include good freeway accessibility, the Metrolink passenger trains, housing affordability, the large manufacturing base, the presence of the health industry, proximity to higher education facilities, Innovation Village, and Fairplex. Weaknesses include insufficient housing construction, the low household income level, the unappealing physical appearance of the commercial corridor, obsolete industrial spaces, traffic congestion, and the relative lack of open space. Opportunities for economic development include attracting high-tech businesses (helped by the presence of higher education facilities), opportunities to use Fairplex, integrating urban design and economic development, promoting land use strategies such as mixed-use development, transit-oriented development, and development of underutilized land, downtown revitalization, enhancement of industrial districts, and infill housing. Threats to Pomona’s future economic health include the potential for further decline in Southern California’s aerospace industry, seismic activity, and problems with waste diversion. Vision. The Pomona Area Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy contributes to the City of Pomona by helping to make it an economically prosperous community. Strategies Six strategies have been identified to implement the vision for economic development. These strategies are synergistic, complementing each other as they are implemented.
….(to be continues)
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