Years after approval, Tapestry developers eye July groundbreaking in Hesperia
Dirt is finally expected to move on the massive — yet controversial — Tapestry project, the master-planned community in the Summit Valley area of Hesperia.
Project General Manager John Ohanian, who has championed the planning and entitlement efforts for Tapestry since its beginning, told the Daily Press that July is the target date for DMB Development to break ground on the 15,663-home site.
“The first phase will be the property adjacent to Ranchero Road and will include 2,104 total units,” Ohanian said. “These will be developed over the next five years.”
The project will include a total of nine construction phases that will take about 20 years to develop, Ohanian added.
DMB, a developer specializing in large-scale communities, also announced the groundbreaking of the project for the homes and 700,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.
The Tapestry footprint lies generally between State Route 173 to the south and Summit Valley Road to the north, Arrowhead Lake Road to the east and the Hesperia city limit to the west.
Two portions of Phase One stretch north beyond Summit Valley Road, including one section that reaches Ranchero Road just east of Rancho Middle School, and the other that ends just south of Krystal School of Science Math & Technology on Krystal Drive.
Tapestry was approved in January 2016 by the Hesperia City Council, which consisted of then-Mayor Bill Holland, the late Paul Russ, former Councilman Eric Schmidt, former Councilman Mike Leonard and the late Russ Blewett.
Now Councilman Bill Holland — the last remaining member on the dais who approved Tapestry — told the Daily Press that the groundbreaking will set off a chain reaction of road improvements.
“One of the biggest changes to the development agreement is the construction of Rancho Las Flores Parkway from I Avenue to Highway 138,” Holland said. “They’re front-loading that project, which will benefit the entire city.”
The West Fork of the Mojave River flows along the egdge of the Tapestry residential project in Summit Valley. Daily Press File Photo
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based DMB, San Bernardino County and Hesperia will work to widen Ranchero Road, Ohanian said.
“The City’s involvement in Phase One will be similar to our role in other housing developments, which includes plan review and site inspections and other responsibilities of the Development Services Department, “ said Deputy City Manager Rachel Molina in a statement. “Otherwise, the City’s focus is on the Ranchero Corridor Widening Project.”
With an estimated price tag of $48 million, Ranchero's widening is a joint effort between Hesperia, the county and the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, Molina said.
Ranchero will be widened between the railroad underpass just east of Seventh Avenue and the Ranchero Road Interchange at Interstate 15. The project will also build a new bridge over the aqueduct, as required by the state, according to Molina.
Ranchero will increase to four lanes, with medians and turning pockets, according to Ohanian, who said DMB is contributing $12 million to this improvement.
New traffic signals will be installed on Ranchero at Maple, Cottonwood and Seventh avenues, Holland said.
“The off-site road project is scheduled to go to bid this summer and start construction in the fall,” Ohanian said. “It is an approximate 14-month project. All on-site roads and improvements will be constructed by the developer at their own expense.”
Last year, the city held several online community workshops to receive feedback from the public as they work to improve I Avenue from Ranchero Road to Bear Valley Road in preparation for Tapestry, the Daily Press reported.
Some of the improvements include the widening of the two-lane roadway to include a center left-turn lane.
Amenities recommended in the plan include improving sidewalks and bus shelters, and adding street lighting at major intersections and Class II bike paths.
“Tapestry may be the most advantageous development for the entire city of Hesperia,” Holland said. “I also believe that John Ohanian’s commitment goes beyond Tapestry, which is evident as his company deploys resources that will benefit all of Hesperia.”
Traffic flows off the Interstate 15 and merges into a one lane section of Ranchero Road in Hesperia, east of Interstate 15, in 2018. Daily Press File Photo
Movement on Tapestry comes nearly five years after the Hesperia City Council unanimously approved the project against a tidal wave of opposition from residents and groups.
“After project approvals, we went through a series of environmental lawsuits which needed to be resolved before we could proceed,” Ohanian told the Daily Press. “That lawsuit settlement was followed by a period of specific detailed designing and planning to present plans to the city that they could approve and issues permits to construct.”
In June 2017, the court battle that Hesperia officials said delayed Tapestry was resolved after the Terra Verde Group made major concessions, the Daily Press reported.
The settlement — between Terra Verde and the Center for Biological Diversity, the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society and the Sierra Club — included the removal of 533 homes in the southern Grass Valley Village area, which Ohanian said equates to losing nearly $50 million of the project’s value.
Removing Grass Valley allowed 1,060 additional acres of open space for wildlife and the arroyo toad, and created several habitat enhancements and corridors that allow wildlife to move around and under roadways.
With Tapestry's scope now updated to include fewer homes, the projected population of nearly 50,000 has dropped by nearly 1,800 residents, and will closely resemble the former Rancho Las Flores project, which Terra Verde purchased in a bankruptcy sale nearly nine years ago.
The settlement of an additional lawsuit filed by the Crestline Sanitation District included a reduction in the development’s footprint on the Summit Valley floor.
The district has used the discharged area for about 40 years, with a permit from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. The effluent is used for irrigation of grazing land and recharges the groundwater basin through percolation, according to Tapestry's EIR.
Ohanian said the COVID-19 pandemic threw the financial market into a “period of turmoil,” which also slowed Tapestry's progress.
“Our business plan has always been to build this project with equity, not debt, so we needed for the investment market to stabilize,” Ohanian said.
John Ohanian, of the Texas-based Terra Verde Group, in an undated photo. Daily Press File Photo
When Tapestry was first introduced in January 2015, many residents said the housing project would bring added traffic congestion, crime, noise and air pollution. They also said it would destroy the beauty and nature of Summit Valley.
Conversely, a handful of people lodged praise, saying Tapestry would produce local jobs, revitalize the economy, make homes available to millennials and bring major road improvements leading into the new community.
Some concerns included allegations of a flawed EIR, the project being abandoned, an incomplete water supply assessment and an exodus of High Desert residents.
Mark Pfister, a general contractor, told the City Council in 2016 that the EIR had many issues that have been “glossed over” and “shoved in the back” of the report that took him eight hours to read.
Pfister, who lives on Highway 173, said the major issues are high density, traffic and environmental concerns.
Still others said they feared major rain and snow storms would cause traffic jams in the area, adding that an earthquake could damage to the nearby Cedar Springs Dam that holds in Silverwood Lake, placing many lives at risk.
Michael and Linda Cutillo started a petition drive against the Tapestry Project in Summit Valley in 2015. Daily Press File Photo
Tapestry’s 9,366-acre community is anticipated to bring more than $7 billion in capital investment upon completion of the project, DMB said.
“We expect continued economic growth and employment opportunities in Hesperia, Victorville, and other nearby locations, leading to a nice balance of jobs and housing for the entire area,” Ohanian said.
According to Ohanian, Tapestry will offer thousands of families opportunities for outdoor recreation within a reasonable commute to San Bernardino, Riverside and Ontario.
Some residents lauded the developer for financing the project, and the associated road improvements, construction of a water reclamation facility and the addition of schools.
Buford Lee Cribb, who lives near Ranchero Road, said the project represents progress for Hesperia.
In 2019, Ohanian said that when planning for Tapestry, the developer put on its “2030 glasses in order to build for future demands,” with homes that will feature solar energy, water recycling and walkable neighborhoods.
Brent Herrington, president and CEO of DMB Development called Tapestry one of the largest new communities to be developed in Southern California in years.
As such, in a press release, Herrington said DMB takes great pride in developing Tapestry “with a deep sense of reverence and environmental responsibility.”
“Our goal is to create a strong, active and caring community that treasures the natural beauty of this area,” he said.
Hesperia Venture I LLC, the owner of the property and an affiliate of Schlegel Capital LLC, acquired the Tapestry site in 2012 and assembled a team to plan and entitle the site for development.
Alex Vahabzadeh and Ray Wirta of Beaumont Americas, a private equity investment group, led financing for the project, DMB officials said.
“Tapestry has the benefit of a scenic location, an under-supplied housing market, and convenient access to major employment centers,” says Wirta. “A new community of this quality and in this setting will provide a welcome alternative for thousands of Southern California families.”
Cattle graze in the Las Flores Ranch area of Summit Valley in 2016. Daily Press File Photo
