If we could pick one word to sum up 2021, that word would be “progress.” As we started our journey into 2021, there was no roadmap for when a return to “normalcy” would happen, nor the timeline for getting there. Although the pandemic has continued to challenge us, it hasn’t deterred us from making progress moving forward with key initiatives for the City of Poway.
Construction on the much-anticipated Mickey Cafagna Community Center was completed on time and within budget. (Learn more about the Community Center project.) The center provides multi-generational programming, with accessibility and adaptiveness at the heart of its design. It offers enrichment opportunities for our youngest residents to our oldest, including a congregate meal program and free and low-cost older adult activities. (Learn more about Older Adult Programs & Services.) If you haven’t yet been to the Community Center, then stop in for a visit during our Winter Festival at Community Park Jan 7 and 8.
Villa de Vida, on the corner of Oak Knoll and Pomerado Road, opened its doors last year to enable adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live independently. The 44-unit Apollo Apartments on Poway Road is expected to reach full occupancy this week, providing housing for low-income older adults, including units designated for veteran preference.
The Apollo project is a part of the Poway Commons mixed-use project in Poway’s “town center” and is the result of a comprehensive effort to revise the Poway Road Specific Plan. This was an extensive process that included input from community members and planning officials. (Learn more about the Poway Road Corridor Study.). Three projects have been approved as a result and will help Poway fill a critical housing gap, as required by the state, with a range of multi-family residential opportunities without encroaching on designated open space.
In 2021 the utility undergrounding phase (work by SDG&E, Cox Communications, and AT&T) for the Espola Road Safety Improvements project was finally complete. The project will improve access for those who walk, jog, cycle or ride horses along the west side of Espola Road between Poway High School and Twin Peaks Road. The second phase of the project is the City’s pathway improvements, which includes a decomposed granite pathway, new asphalt berm, grouted rock surface parkway, lodgepole fencing, and retaining walls. The project is on schedule for an April completion.
Poway made significant progress on one the largest sets of capital improvement projects the city has undertaken. Construction is in progress for the first of three projects focused on increasing the reliability of drinking water for Poway water customers now and generations to come. Two tanks, each with the capacity to store 1.4 million gallons of treated water, will allow the City to replace the outdated clearwell reservoir. The final project will be a San Diego County Water Authority treated water connection. (Learn more about Poway's water infrastructure capital improvement projects.)
And while the world has not yet reached the post-pandemic status we’d hoped for, we can be very proud that we’ve still achieved what was on the top of our wish list for Poway in 2021: getting to a place in which our sports fields are bustling, restaurants and other businesses are operating at full capacity, and finding ways to bring people together to celebrate our community.