300-unit infill clears Riverside Planning Commission on a 45-year scrap yard

Raincross Gazette: Iron Lofts LLC won Planning Commission approval Thursday for a 300-unit mixed-use project on the seven-acre Commerce Street site that operated as Riverside Scrap Iron & Metal for more than 45 years. The plan adds 291 apartments and nine live/work units across a four-story building and a two-story townhome structure, with units running from 447 to 1,186 square feet. The historic Barley Mills Building, which sits on the property, will be preserved and converted into a clubhouse and fitness center.

The site is a state-flagged brownfield. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control approved a 2024 cleanup plan calling for the removal of about 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. The redevelopment also pulls in 12 parcels through vacations of an alley and part of Sixth Street, and it needs General Plan and Riverside Marketplace Specific Plan amendments plus a rezoning from industrial to mixed-use urban.

The most editorially interesting detail is the parking math. The project provides 388 spaces against a local code requirement of 474. Senior Planner Judy Eguez told commissioners the gap is permitted under AB 2097, the 2022 state law that bars cities from imposing minimum parking requirements within half a mile of major transit. The California Public Utilities Commission also raised concerns about pedestrian and vehicle traffic near the Commerce Street and Mission Inn Avenue railroad crossing; the project's conditions of approval add high-visibility crosswalks, rapid flashing beacons, and ADA-compliant pedestrian work at the intersection.

No public commenters appeared at the hearing. Commissioner Johnny Wilder pressed on the parking count; Chair Launa Wilson backed the project, noting she lives within walking distance.