Dos Lagos, in Corona, Calif., is a 543-acre, highly integrated, pedestrian-oriented community that blends a variety of land uses in a dynamic and self-sustaining environment. The Dos Lagos master developer, SE Corp., planned the mixed-use community to reclaim the former Owens Illinois silica and sand mining site.

Active mining of the site from 1940 to 1973, and its abandonment one year prior to federal adoption of the Mining and Reclamation Act, resulted in a grossly disturbed site with cuts, alterations and significantly altered original topography throughout. Years of excessive and illegal dumping resulted in further degradation and blight. Public hazards included trespassing, and annual flooding conditions and road closures from sedimentation.

Recognizing the need to cure significant onsite hazards and to reclaim and restore the brownfield site into viable and productive use, developer Ali Sahabi began discussions with Riverside County and Corona city officials in 1997. A partnership with the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District (RCRCD) was established, resulting in a project-wide habitat restoration plan, and endowments to ensure perpetual preservation and management of critical habitat resources. Long-term management of created wetlands, bioswales and portions of Temescal Creek are now integrated into the day-to-day management activities of the golf course segment of the development.

PHOTO CREDIT: DOS LAGOS

The heart of Dos Lagos, the nine-acre Garden Lake Distrect includes two four-acre lakes, a 10-foot waterfall, an outdoor amphitheater, and a 700-foot long pedestrian bridge.

Reclamation efforts included site-wide removal of blight, deconstruction of mining remnants, project-wide grading and remixing of uncompacted tailings, and earth-balancing activities. Remediation of abandoned borrow pits included the restoration of aquifer integrity, installation of groundwater monitoring systems, and fill and recompaction within a 60-foot by 60-acre area, bringing the topography nearer its original elevations.

Today, the nine-acre Garden Lake District—with its two four-acre lakes, 10-foot waterfall, 400-seat outdoor amphitheater, lifestyle center, plazas, native gardens, citrus garden, and 700-foot long pedestrian bridge—serves as a community center. The development is located symbolically above the reclaimed mining pits, which are the name sake of the Dos Lagos community.

Restoration efforts evident throughout the site include bank stabilization and habitat restoration along the mile-long, 40-acre Temescal Wash; restoration and preservation of 135 acres of fire-damaged habitat; creation of a golf green belt that combines wetlands and bioswales to form a major regional wildlife corridor; and significant open-space resources that serve the entire community.

The relocation of existing trees, major roadway realignments and new infrastructure placement enabled the preservation of a dozen young trees and six 170-year-old oak trees.

The project demonstrates successful and transferable methods for implementing and achieving sustainable community redevelopment applicable to bedroom communities, and infill and brownfield sites in the throes of demographic, economic and environmental change.