City of San Bernardino seeking Request for Qualifications for Carousel Mall property

On July 5 the City of San Bernardino announced its Request For Qualifications for a mixed use development opportunity, at the Carousel mall property, located in downtown San Bernardino.

Qualification proposals will be accepted online, via Planet Bids website at https://www.planetbids.com, until Wednesday, August 14^th.

“The City of San Bernardino invites qualified local, regional and national developers to submit their qualifications for consideration by the mayor and city council to redevelop the former Carousel Mall,” said Michael Huntley, director of community and economic development.

The city is looking for developers who have a familiarity “with large urban in-fill, mixed use and transit-oriented development projects,” which are key factors in generating growth in any community.

According to the Request for Qualifications report, the development patterns would include ground floor commercial, retail, service, entertainment and food oriented uses with residential uses allowed on the second floor of the building.

The 42-acre property opened its doors in 1972 and closed down in 2017.

“The City’s ownership of the property is through its former redevelopment agency and is therefore subject to the dissolution act process for all redevelopment agencies in California. This property has been identified as one of the main catalysts for the future revitalization of downtown San Bernardino and the strategic sale of this property asset is of key importance,” continued Huntley.

While many San Bernardino residents are in favor of the revitalization of downtown San Bernardino, others are not.

On the San Bernardino City Hall Tracker Facebook page, Facebook user Gigi Pelissero, said “Retail is not an option. We are surrounded by retail, Redlands and Ontario, plus the Inland Center Mall. No one is going to travel to San Bernardino to shop. Trust me, the residents of the city can’t sustain retail. They will close and more junk stores will move in; it is not needed! Investors will see this as an easy build and as a tax write-off.”

On the same Facebook post, Lorraine Davila said, “This is such exciting news. Thank you for sharing the Request for Qualifications, Councilmember Ibarra.”

For more information, visit http://www.ci.san-bernardino.ca.us/.