Shopoff Realty Investments has acquired land for a master-planned development with up to 3,650 residential units and 250,000 square feet of commercial space in the Inland Empire.
The Irvine-based firm, run by veteran developer Bill Shopoff, did not disclose the price of the spread of land in the Riverside County municipality of Calimesa. Riverside and San Bernardino counties are together referred to as the Inland Empire.
Shopoff’s plans also include 565 acres of open space and two schools, though specific details were not provided.
The land is located off Sandalwood Drive and the I-10 highway, the firm said. Records show surrounding land is owned by a limited liability company named Mesa Verde RE Ventures, linked to Michael Surh, a real estate developer also based in Irvine.
Housing demand is “at an all time high,” Bill Shopoff said in a statement, adding the firm has worked on several master plans in the past.
The Inland Empire has attracted around a quarter of a million people during the pandemic, as California residents fled more expensive cities nearer the coast. Riverside and San Bernardino Counties saw a 50 percent increase in new households in 2020, with many new residents still commuting to jobs in Los ANgeles and Orange Counties.
Shopoff currently has a portfolio of 33 properties, spread out mainly across California, with some in Nevada, Texas, New Mexico and Midwestern states, according to its website.
In Riverside County, the firm is also working on developing a 229-acre plan to build two warehouses totaling 1.8 million square feet of space.
Shopoff isn’t the only developer looking to capitalize on open space in the Inland Empire. Another developer, Walton Group, is planning to build up to 580 single-family homes and a hotel across 555 acres in Riverside County, according to its website.