Earth movers reconfigure land for Silverwood, former Tapestry, housing community in Hesperia
Construction Superintendent Maxwell Fitivale was behind the wheel of his four-wheel drive pickup as he toured the sprawling Silverwood project site.
The graded property, which included flat terrain, ravines, and rolling hills, resembled a blank canvas stretched out before blue skies and the San Bernardino Mountains.
An army of earth movers continue to reconfigure hundreds of acres of land for Phase 1 of the Silverwood master-planned community in the Summit Valley area.
The area includes a man-made water retention basin, pipes, mounds of gravel, concrete drainage and wattle on hillsides to control sediment from moving. Bordering the construction area were thousands of undisturbed acres of Hesperia's rolling hills, low-lying pasture lands, ravines, and desert flora.
Towers with high-voltage transmission lines stood watch nearby.
“Right now, we’re in the beginning stages of preparing the infrastructure for utilities, drainage, easements, water lines, and streets,” said Jackie Abbott, project coordinator for DMB Development.
The entire Silverwood project spans 9,366 acres for 15,633 dwelling units, 700,00 square feet of commercial space, and nearly 5,000 acres for parks and open space. The site lies north of Silverwood Lake, located on the West Fork Mojave River, a tributary of the river in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Silverwood General Manager John Ohanian told the Daily Press the project includes nine construction phases that will take about 20 years to develop.
A community in the making
On Jan. 26, 2016, the Hesperia Council approved a tentative tract map to create 2,104 residential unit lots on 986 gross acres for Phase 1 within the Tapestry Specific Plan, now known as the Silverwood Project.
The first homes in Phase I will begin construction sometime in 2024, according to Ohanian. Located south of Ranchero Road and near I Avenue, Phase 1 will include 2,093 dwelling units consisting of homes, condos, and flats.
Silverwood was designed with two primary, walkable mixed-use town centers, which will serve as commercial hubs. There will also be five elementary, one middle, and one high school.
Abbott said to ensure safety, the development will soon begin constructing a temporary fire station for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
“In total, Silverwood will have three permanent fire stations,” Abbott said. “One of the fire stations will be large enough to accommodate a base for sheriff’s deputies.”
The project will include several sustainable elements such as solar power for homes and businesses along with a new wastewater plant and extensive use of recycled water for landscaping.
The housing community will also include the construction of Silverwood Trail, a major roadway that will connect I Avenue to Highway 138.
“On Monday, construction began on our 140-foot long Silverwood Trail bridge, which included two lanes in each direction,” Abbott said.
From opposition to approval
When Tapestry was first introduced in January 2015, many residents said the housing project would bring added traffic congestion, crime, noise and air pollution. They also said it would destroy the beauty and nature of Summit Valley.
Conversely, a handful of people lodged praise, saying Tapestry would produce local jobs, revitalize the economy, make homes available to millennials and bring major road improvements leading into the new community.
Construction began in December 2021, nearly six years after the council unanimously approved the project against a continuing tidal wave of opposition from residents and groups.
“After project approvals, we went through a series of environmental lawsuits which needed to be resolved before we could proceed,” said Ohanian, in a 2022 interview. “That lawsuit settlement was followed by a period of specific detailed designing and planning to present plans to the city that they could approve and issues permits to construct.”
In June 2017, the court battle that Hesperia officials said delayed Silverwood was resolved after the Terra Verde Group made major concessions, the Daily Press reported. The settlement was between Terra Verde and the Center for Biological Diversity, the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club.
“Our goal is to create a strong, active, and caring community that treasures the natural beauty of this area,” said Brent Herrington, president and CEO of DMB Development.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Earth movers reconfigure land for massive Silverwood housing project
