RIVERSIDE – (INT) – City leaders are positioning Riverside to become the downtown of Inland Southern California.

Residents of the first new housing in the downtown’s historic core will move in this weekend, breathing a more vibrant life into what’s becoming a 24-hour downtown.

Thursday marks the grand opening of the Imperial Hardware Lofts which formerly housed the historic hardware store of the same name.

Over its 100+ year lifespan, the building located one block from the historic Mission Inn, evolved and has been occupied by various tenants and uses. The last tenant vacated in the late 1980s. The building was acquired by the City’s former Redevelopment Agency in 2006 and sold to Ratkovich Properties in 2016.

Mayor Rusty Bailey applauded the building’s resurrection. “The Imperial Hardware Lofts project is one of several new downtown developments that are expected to boost local tax revenue, create new permanent jobs and allow hundreds of individuals, couples and families the opportunity to live in the downtown core.”

Story Date: August 23, 2018