It seems that Apple Valley California and the rest of The High Desert is on the right track as it looks towards a promising future with XPRESSWEST, the subsidiary of Virgin Trains USA planning a high-speed train line from California to Las Vegas beginning October 2020.
Talks have already begun about extending the western terminus from Apple Valley to Rancho Cucamonga where the line could connect directly to the Los Angeles metro network. Alternative plans, which Virgin Trains says are still viable, would see the line turn west from Apple Valley to connect to Palmdale, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles.
The project will create some 30,000 jobs and reduce traffic on Interstate 15 through Las Vegas by 3 million cars a year. The 185-mile-long trip between the Victor Valley Region and Las Vegas will be built within the median of the I-15 and use electric and zero-emission trains reaching top speeds of 200 miles per hour, transporting passengers between destinations in about 85 minutes or less. The privately-funded rail project is expected to complete construction in 2023.
On the job front, obviously construction of the high-speed train as well as infrastructure once completed will provide an enormous amount of sustainable employment. Also, in Apple Valley, there are the Big Lots and Walmart Distribution Centers as well as Victor Valley College’s Regional Public Safety Training Center. Additionally, there is the ADLI grocery store and soon to open- Panera Bread, AutoZone, Quick Quack Car Wash, Planet Fitness and Chase Bank to name a few.
In Hesperia, construction of the three-story Kaiser Permanente Medical Office building on Escondido Road near the Walmart Supercenter is under way. Scheduled to open in 2021, the high-tech medical facility is expected to include 30 provider offices, primary/specialty care, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OBGYN, cardiology and physical therapy. The 54,000-square-foot building will also feature a pharmacy, lab, diagnostic imaging, nurse clinic, optometry and optical dispensing, and a conference center.
In Victorville, the 74,613-square-foot, 170-bed, skilled-nursing facility- Desert Ridge Transitional Care Center on the corner of Eleventh Avenue and Winona Street will also provide added employment. Plus, over 1 million square feet of expansion projects at Southern California Logistics Airport.
All this points to tremendous growth in all the communities of The High Desert even as 2020 continues to present us with a steady stream of challenges. Without question, The High Desert is experiencing a residential real estate market surge not seen in over a decade. Homes for sale in Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville and other communities in The High Desert are witnessing 20 or more showings within days of being listed and sellers are getting multiple offers.
For home buyers, they are realizing that the place they live should be optimized for remote working. A recent survey of real estate agents revealed that the most sought-after home upgrade was having a functioning home office (even more so than a big outdoor space). Here in The High Desert you can get more square footage like having a yard for your pets and children as well as that all-important home office. And what’s more, you can have this for far less than you will pay in most Southern California metro areas.
