Devlopment near CSU San Bernardino OK’D, will include Chick-fil-a, Dutch Bros., Panera
A new fast food hub with Chick-fil-a, Dutch Bros. Coffee and Panera Bread is bound for a vacant lot off the 215 Freeway at University Parkway in northern San Bernardino.
Recently approved by the Planning Commission, the University Crossings project is about a mile from Cal State San Bernardino.
A Mister Car Wash also is planned for the plaza.
The 4200 N. University Pkwy. property is where the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry building stood for years before being demolished after flames ripped through the place in March 2022.
“This project can be very successful,” Commissioner Larry Quiel said Tuesday. “I’m glad to see this caliber of project coming to our community.”
Commissioners reviewed the University Crossings project two months ago, and while they were generally enthused with the proposal to bring national fast food chains to town, they requested more green space and pedestrian pathways be added to the car-oriented development.
Such additions were included in the updated proposal Tuesday.
Commissioners in January also questioned why a car wash was included in the project when another is already operating nearby.
Public car washes, staffers offered then, recycle a majority of their water, making them more efficient than people washing their vehicles at home.
“This is a great project, and we need it badly,” Commissioner Dolores Armstead, the biggest opponent of adding another car wash to the area, said Tuesday. “My only concern is another car wash beside an existing car wash. … It’s a lot of car washes and I’ll say none of them have a backup of cars, so demand isn’t (there). How many car washes do you need?
“The project is great,” Armstead added. “I would not stop it because of this car wash, but it’s just another car wash beside a car wash, and is that necessary? I’m sure we could’ve used (the space) better.”
University Crossings will have San Bernardino’s first Chick-fil-a and second Dutch Bros. Coffee.
Once open, the plaza will give CSUSB students not only more places nearby to grab food, but also work, said John Nolan, CEO of the San Bernardino Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which owns the property.
UCLA and USC have similar options around their campuses, Nolan added.
University Crossings, he continued, “provides a win-win result. A win for the community, a win for the students and a win for Scottish Rite with no offsetting non-wins for any entity whatsoever.”