HUD APPROVES $3.8 MILLION LOAN GUARANTEE TO RIALTO, CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES – The Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is approving a $3.8 million Section 108 Loan Guarantee to the City of Rialto to construct a municipal sports park, which will include athletic playing fields and related facilities and installations, including fencing, irrigation systems, and bathrooms.  The City will leverage the $3.8 million Section 108 Loan Guarantee with other city park development funds.

HUD's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Assistance Program enables local governments to borrow money at reduced interest rates to promote economic development, stimulate job growth and improve public facilities.  Such public investment is often needed to inspire private contributions, to provide seed money, or to simply boost confidence that private firms and individuals may need to invest in distressed areas.

"HUD's Loan Guarantee Program can be a powerful public investment tool to drive economic development in underserved areas," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  "The program will be a boost to the City's revitalization efforts and provide jobs for residents who need them most.

According to the City's application to HUD it will use the Section 108 guaranteed loan proceeds to construct a municipal sports park, which will include athletic playing fields and related facilities and installations, including fencing, irrigation systems, and bathrooms.  This recreational sports park will be designed to serve an area that is primarily residential and of which the majority of its residents are low- and moderate-income persons.  The project site is 6.16 acres and will contain an athletic field, basketball courts, bleachers, a snack bar, perimeter fencing, lighting, parking, and a new water irrigation system.

The project site at 324 N. Palm Avenue is on the grounds of the former Rialto Middle School.  The Rialto Unified School District (the "District") currently owns and operates the former school buildings for administrative and specialized instruction uses, but does not use the recreational area.  The District is finalizing the transfer of the recreational portion of the site to the City for developing the sports park for recreational use by local residents.  As part of that transfer, the District will receive property that it has been leasing from the City on which the District operates an elementary school.

The project will be completed in two phases.  Phase 1 encompasses 5.91 acres and will add three basketball courts and a new baseball/softball diamond, including spectator seating, restroom facilities, a snack bar, new parking facilities, and perimeter wrought iron fencing.  The fencing will separate the new recreational facilities from the former middle school buildings, which the District continues to operate and use for some of its administrative offices.  The basketball courts will be shielded by an overhead canvas canopy, to provide protection from sun and rain.  In Phase 2, the City will install a new football/soccer field and rubber track on a 1.25-acre parcel.  Both phases contain new water-efficient irrigation systems, and lighting, including in the parking area for security purposes.  All of the facilities will be developed to comply with current building codes and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

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