Restored 1879 Adobe Is Focus of New Mall in Rancho California
A meticulous restoration of an adobe home built in 1879 by Temecula Valley pioneer Jose Maria Gonzales is the centerpiece of Old Adobe Plaza, a new $10-million, nine-acre shopping center that is nearing completion in Rancho California.
In an additional tribute to the Basque origins of Gonzales, the shopping plaza at Overland Drive and Jefferson Avenue was designed in a Mediterranean style by Coombs & Mesquita, a San Diego architectural firm.
The 100,000-square-foot shopping center, part of the $30-million, 90-acre Rancho Commerce Center, is being developed by Rancon Realty Fund 1. The fund’s David Lowry said that the commerce center is the largest combined commercial/industrial development in the Riverside County planned community of Rancho California.
The Gonzales adobe, with 1,078 square feet, is being restored by Barton Heywood and will be a gift shop featuring sheepskin and leather goods. It will be flanked by 21 stores, including a 6,000-square-foot farmer’s market as the anchor tenant.
According to Dan Stephenson, founder and chairman of Rancon Corp., most of the first phase has been leased. Two additional phases of the plaza, with 55,000 square feet, are scheduled for completion later this year.
