Colton Joint Unified School District announced on Thursday that it entered into an agreement with the warehouse developer of a massive project in Bloomington to preserve Zimmerman Elementary School.
Under the agreement, the district will receive $27 million to preserve Zimmerman, which was initially set to be demolished and relocated to make way for the 213-acre Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan project.
The project, first approved in 2022 by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, aims to construct up to 3.2 million square feet of warehouses.
A San Bernardino County Superior Court ruled in September 2024 that technical issues in the project's Environmental Impact Report needed to be corrected. Following the court’s ruling, the county’s planning department recirculated the document for public review. The updated project EIR is expected to go before the San Bernardino County Planning Commission later this month.
The project, initially led by Howard Industrial Partners, is now under the ownership of Bloomington Gateway Distribution Center LLC, a company owned by Brookfield Corporation.
Next Thursday, the county’s Planning Commission is set to continue its public hearing to consider approving the updated environmental report. The project will then be considered for approval by the Board of Supervisors once more.
The district shared in a press release that it negotiated a plan that “provides the best possible outcome for students, families and staff at Zimmerman” and asserts that it is setting a precedent for how school districts should engage with large-scale development in their communities.
“The Board ensured that if Bloomington Gateway’s project moves forward, it will do so with a meaningful investment of $27 million in our local schools and legally enforced protections for Zimmerman Elementary to safeguard students that would not otherwise exist – an outcome that far exceeds other settlements.”
The agreement will also require Bloomington Gateway to implement safety measures at Zimmerman through the project’s development, such as proper fencing, sound reduction, traffic and dust management, construction vehicle operations and crossing guards during designated student drop-off and pickup periods.
According to CJUSD, Bloomington Gateway has also committed to moving truck bays away from the Zimmerman campus and prohibiting project-related truck traffic from using Linden Avenue, which they said is consistent with the project’s anticipated conditions of approval.
Dozens of residents attended the board meeting on Thursday to raise their frustrations over the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan project. Some of the speakers at the meeting have mobilized opposition to the project, arguing that it has led to widespread displacement and discriminatory practices.
Some speakers acknowledged that the district had no decision-making influence over the county’s decision, but urged them not to support the project.
Andrea Flores, who grew up in Bloomington and raised her six children there, shared that she’s concerned about backed-up traffic on major corridors near Zimmerman, like Santa Ana and Linden avenues, that she claims big rig trucks contribute to.
“Some people are trying to go to work, and they're stuck in between this truck that can't fit in it,” said Flores, recounting an experience she had picking up her children from nearby Crestmore Elementary. “I can't imagine once they build the business that the traffic is going to get a lot worse.”
Resident Jorge Perez told board members that he wanted them to back up their past commitments to Bloomington by standing in solidarity with residents to reject the project.
“I understand that your choice is not easy,” said Perez in Spanish. “I understand that, but understand that it isn't easy for us either. I'm standing here shaking, literally shaking, because of how important it is to us.”
In a statement to KVCR, Rohan A’Beckett, senior vice president of development for Brookfield, said the company continues to “work collaboratively with local stakeholders to address concerns and support meaningful benefits for the Bloomington community as the project moves through the review process.”
