8 / 40
8
Economic Development for Riverside County is a collab-
orative partnership between the County’s Economic
Development Agency (EDA), its 28 cities, 12 Native
American Tribes, and several regional Economic
Development Corporations for the purposes of imple-
menting business attraction and retention programs.
e partnership is called Team Riverside County (TRC).
Collaboration and leveraging financial and human
resources are the cornerstone principles guiding the
program. TRC’smain objectives are to promote Riverside
County’s business opportunities to national and inter-
national markets, develop effective networks within
industry sectors, and lead generation.
Successful project highlights for 2014-15 include:
Team Riverside County won an Award of Merit
together with the City of Hemet for the Hemet
Business Recruitment and Expansion Program
Riverside County was a finalist at the Inland Empire
Economic Partnership’s Red Tape to Red Carpet
Awards for the Inland SoCal Link Innovation Hub
Cal Premium Treats opened a premium pet treat
manufacturing facility in Mead Valley and will hire
99 new employees.
AvensoleWinery expansion and renovation underway
in Wine Country creating 60 new jobs.
Aldi Foods logistics and regional headquarters is
now under construction in Moreno Valley. When
completed, Aldi will hire 200 new employees.
BMW Performance Center West opened at the
ermal Club. e Center will create 15 new jobs
and welcome tourists to the Coachella Valley.
Facilitated $30 million of Bond financing for the
expansion of Julian Charter Schools in southwest
Riverside County.
Hosted the Industrial Asset Management Council
Forum in Indian Wells in April, 2015. e Forum
had the highest attendance of any Forumwith over
500 attendees and the highest number of corporate
real estate executives. is Forum showcased
Riverside County to some of the nation’s top
corporate real estate executives, site selectors, and
development professionals.
BUSINESS FINANCING
e Economic Development Agency can help facilitate
financing for businesses through a variety of programs
including:
Small Business Administration Loans
Industrial Development Bond Financing for
Manufacturers
EB-5 Foreign Direct Investment
Venture Capital
Recycling Market Development Zone Loans
FAST TRACK
As part of its ongoing effort to become the most
business-friendly county in the state, the County of
Riverside instituted a strike force of development-related
departments to begin a process improvement program
designed to assist businesses engaged in the County’s
land use and permitting processes.
In fiscal year 2014-15, EDA launched 9 new industrial
and commercial Fast Track projects delivering the
following economic impacts:
1,987 full-time permanent jobs
2,622 construction jobs
$337 million capital investment
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
Riverside ExCITE, a collaborative between local business
leaders, UC Riverside, the City of Riverside, and the
County of Riverside, had its grand opening in November
of 2014. e goal of ExCITE is to facilitate the successful
incubation and acceleration of start-up companies
engaged in entrepreneurial research and development
of advanced technologies to create high technology
jobs in Riverside County. e incubator aims to increase
the number of successful start-up businesses in the
region by providing a location for business synthesis,
mentorship and management; access to financial
resources and information; access to marketing and
professional services; and technology transfer from
domestic and foreign universities, organizations
and governments.
ExCITE currently houses five start-up companies. Prior
to opening its physical location, ExCITE had the oppor-
tunity to support two companies in space provided by
the County of Riverside. Zyante, an interactive textbook
company, has been so successful they are nowoperating
in their own space in Riverside and employ over ten
people. e Board of Directors is looking to increase the
number of successful high-tech start-ups like Zyante. For
more information on ExCITE, you can visit the website
at
www.exciteriverside.org.
Economic Development
Riverside County is business friendly, a location that is central to all Southern
California markets, and an excellent choice for business.