The Frink adobe sits on Mission Road in Loma Linda and can tell much of the early history of not just the city but of early settlers who came to the Inland Empire in the 1800s. "You can tell the whole story of the south side of the San Bernardino Valley standing almost at any point along Mission Road," said former Loma Linda Historical Commission chairman Jim Shipp.
Currently, the adobe sits on a 71-acre plot, where a developer is proposing to build around 150 new housing units. That proposal is up for consideration on July 12. If approved, the developer would give the adobe to the city and provide repairs to the building as part of a community benefits agreement.
"This is really a win-win because the city is not putting money out of its budget... the developers paying for it," Shipp said.
The agreement would directly allocate around $370,000 that would go towards reroofing the over 140-year-old building, as well as funding tree replacement and building a small parking lot. "So it's a very old building, and it needs a lot of work, and it needs to be done correctly," Shipp said. "It's got to be restored by professionals, and so this is the beginning of that process."
Pete Dangermond is with the Two Canyon's Conservancy and hopes that if this proposal goes through, that the site can become a place for local school students to visit. "We think we can also have it so that kids can come through this area and go into the living room of an adobe building that was built 140 years ago and get the feeling of and hearing the stories of what must have gone on in those days," Dangermond said.
While not completely agreed upon, Loma Linda is considering handing off the Frink adobe to the Two Canyon Conservancy, who would then do further repairs to the historic building.
