Riverside officials on Tuesday approved the sale of a long-vacant, 3.7-acre property along Railroad Avenue for a project that would bring a self-storage complex and four affordable homes to the Casa Blanca neighborhood.
The $650,000 purchase and development agreement from Railroad Ave Storage LLC advances a plan that city staff say would bring investment and a small home ownership opportunity to the corridor while avoiding the larger residential project previously proposed for the site.
Some Casa Blanca residents said that smaller scale made the proposal more acceptable, though other public commenters also raised concerns about railroad noise, safety and parking.
The proposal includes four three-bedroom houses – each with a two-car garage – that would be built for sale to households earning up to 80% of the area median income, and three two-story self-storage buildings totaling about 96,000 square feet with roughly 70,000 square feet of rentable space.
The storage buildings are planned to help reduce train noise for the homes, according to the staff report. The site runs along Railroad Avenue near Madison Street, where about 15,000 square feet of land will be set aside for a future grade-separation project.
The city's appraisal valued the full 4.15-acre area at $860,000. But staff said the $650,000 sales price reflects the smaller developable area, including the portion that will remain with the city, as well as an estimated $124,000 cost to extend a sewer main to the project.
The deal still needs approval from the Countywide Oversight Board. The agreement also requires the homes to remain affordable and gives the city the right to take back the property if the developer does not follow through on the project.
Residents generally welcomed the scaled-back housing component – especially compared with earlier development efforts that included a since-canceled warehouse and office proposal from Riverside Harley-Davidson as well as a later affordable multifamily and senior-housing plan that city decision-makers denied in 2023.
One of the residents said the project was discussed through a Casa Blanca community action group and drew a better response than the previous plan.
"Most of the individuals were happy with that coming into the Casa Blanca area because it's not housing through the whole street," said resident Margie Tadwilliams. "It was just those four at the end."
She also said a wall behind the homes could help buffer residents from the railroad tracks and nearby crossing.
Resident Paul Chavez urged the city to more fully address the impact of building homes near the tracks, raising concerns about train noise, vibration, air pollution, safety and parking.
"The possibility of derailment is there and these things need to be addressed," said Chavez, who also called for a barrier between the tracks and the new development.
City staff said the development is expected to represent about $15 million in private investment, create an estimated 70 construction jobs and generate between $150,000 and $187,000 a year in property-tax revenue.
