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Community

Investments in economic development have all too often accelerated gentrification, alienating long-time residents and increasing displacement in job and housing markets. These investments will expand opportunities, improve outcomes for all residents, and keep the wealth and prosperity generated by Playbook investments in the community.

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  • Cybersecurity Workforce Tech Hub ($6.75M)

  • El Sol Holistic Center ($2M)

  • Community Leadership Empowerment Workshop ($0.6M)

  • Olympic Aquatic Center ($43M) 

LAST MILE

  • Institute for Child Development and Family Relations – Downtown ($20.5M)

  • Economic Opportunity Center

  • E Street Arts Corridor

  • Inland Port Career Resource Center

  • Purposeful Pathways

EXPLORATORY

READY-TO-GO

Community: Cybersecurity Workforce Tech Hub

READY-TO-GO

This new workforce and apprenticeship hub in downtown San Bernardino will address rising demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals by providing a well-coordinated combination of career exploration, classroom instruction, mentorship, and experiential learning opportunities. As part of the Inland Empire Cybersecurity Initiative (IECI), this proven model for cyber workforce development will build on the nationally recognized cybersecurity program at CSUSB, with active collaboration from area community colleges and K-12 as well as private- and public-sector employers. Given that CSUSB and its community college partners are Hispanic-Serving Institutions with large numbers of students of color (including many who are economically disadvantaged and/or first-generation), Hub programming will boost student economic mobility and help rectify racial and ethnic disparities in the region.

OBJECTIVES

  • Establish a transit-accessible downtown hub for cybersecurity workforce development

  • Develop clear, well-supported pathways into quality cybersecurity and supply chain logistics careers

  • Strengthen collaboration among area high schools, community colleges, universities, and public- and private-sector employers

  • Boost economic mobility for economically disadvantaged students, students of color, and first-generation students

COST

Total: $6.75M
over five years

Community: El Sol Holistic Campus

READY-TO-GO

An expansion of this established community transformation hub on the 1.9-acre parcel northeast of Seccombe Lake will provide additional space for the provision of culturally specific health education, basic health screenings, wellness classes, peer-to-peer counseling and educational services for vulnerable San Bernardino residents. Designed in collaboration with community members, the El Sol Holistic Campus provide space for service provision alongside gardens for food and healing, a playground, a children’s amphitheater, a basketball court, a turf play area, and a two-story Learning and Community Center. This new facility will include space for recreational activities and cultural pursuits, children’s playroom, library, art gallery, cafeteria, a commercial kitchen for onsite food preparation. Flexible multipurpose space will be available for events, meetings, workshops, and other community uses, with sliding-scale rental fees to ensure accessibility.

OBJECTIVES

  • Strengthen an established community organization with a proven track record for assisting San Bernardino’s most vulnerable communities

  • Increase access to health care, education, recreation, and social services in the downtown core

COST

Total: $2M

Community: Community Leadership Empowerment Workshop

READY-TO-GO

The nine-session Community Leadership Empowerment Workshop (CLEW) program builds leadership skills, community empowerment and urban planning know-how among cohorts of area residents. Designed to support deliberately inclusive community and economic development, this program will act as a safeguard against gentrification, displacement, and community disinvestment. Each 15-20-person cohort costs less than $50K to run. CLEW graduates have gone on to work in their communities at all levels, ranging from neighborhood projects to local elected office. Adoption of the CLEW model—perhaps as part of Uplift SB’s suite of programming—will provide a clear signal that San Bernardino is embracing a more equitable, community-informed approach to economic development.  

OBJECTIVES

  • Build leadership skills, empowerment, and urban planning know-how among community residents

  • Guard against displacement and disinvestment

  • Ensure economic development efforts are responsive and authentic to the local community

COST

Total: $600K over five years

Community: Olympic Aquatic Center

READY-TO-GO

An Olympic Aquatic Center in Ward 5 will boost quality of life, improve access to healthy exercise options, and establish San Bernardino as a destination location for aquatics competitions. This 65,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility will be composed of three swimming pools with space for spectators; a building for platform diving; non-aquatic exercise areas; meeting rooms; event space; party rental gazebos; and a playground. Core activities will include swimming activities for all ages, competitions and other large aquatic events, aerobics and other exercise training in an aquatic environment, and weekend facilities rentals. Free water safety workshops and sliding-scale swimming lessons will ensure that area residents have the skills and knowledge needed to guard against drowning accidents.

OBJECTIVES

  • Promote healthy living in San Bernardino by expanding range of exercise opportunities

  • Provide needed water safety education and swimming lessons for area residents

  • Boost tourism by attracting major aquatics competitions to San Bernardino

COST

Total: $43M
over five years

Community: Institute for Child Development and Family Relations – Downtown

LAST MILE

The Institute for Child Development and Family Relations – Downtown (ICDFR – Downtown) will serve as a community hub committed to the well-being of parents, children, and families in the San Bernardino community through a combination of education, direct services, and research. This centrally located, transit-accessible facility will support delivery and expansion of the ICDFR Science of Parenting parent education program, offer child assessments and cognitive training through its Family Assessment Center in order to identify children with learning needs and enhance their success in school, and offer in-person courses and certificate programs for professionals who serve children and families in San Bernardino. The ICDFR – Downtown will also house the Child and Families Research Center, which will conduct and support community-university partnership-based research on child development, parenting, work-family balance, child mental health, and family well-being.


To extend its capacity, the ICDFR – Downtown will leverage existing relationships with community agencies and funding partners such as First 5 of San Bernardino County, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, Children’s Network, Child Care Resource Center, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County, and the Making Hope Happen Foundation. Working in collaboration with community partners, it will also serve as a Family Resource Hub for parents and families, offering after school programming with developmentally appropriate activities, education events, and access to child and family resources in the community.

OBJECTIVES

  • Improve the long-term health and well-being of San Bernardino residents

  • Support healthy development of San Bernardino children and youth

  • Develop the workforce that will serve children and families in the future

COST

Total: $20.5M
over five years

Community: Economic Opportunity Center

LAST MILE

An Economic Opportunity Center constructed on land owned by the City of San Bernardino will provide needed physical infrastructure, programming, and staff support for street vendors and day laborers. Classroom and conference space will allow for tailored programming designed to support the success of area street vendors and day laborers. The Center will include a commercial kitchen that can be rented by the hour or by the day on a sliding-scale basis. This affordable production space will help food-based street vendors interested in expanding their businesses. It will also serve as a safe, well-regulated hiring hub for area day laborers seeking work opportunities.

OBJECTIVES

  • Improve quality of life and reduce economic exploitation among local day laborers and street vendors

  • Expand access to city services for local street vendors and day laborers  

  • Provide a central hub for area contractors seeking day laborers

  • Increase business activity near the proposed site

COST

To be determined

EXPLORATORY

Community: E Street Arts Corridor

​The E Street Arts Corridor will strengthen the San Bernardino creative economy by providing a designated geography for arts and cultural activities. This downtown arts district will extend from the Garcia Center for the Arts to West 2nd and West Rialto, encompassing existing assets such as the Sturges Center for the Fine Arts and the California Theatre of the Performing Arts as well as two new facilities, Creativ.IE and the 440 Court Building.  
 

Creativ.IE: This mixed-use arts entrepreneurship lab will provide a hub for working artists and creative entrepreneurs, with free/low-cost artist studios and maker space, retail space for artists to sell their work, a digital media center, a photo lab, a recording studio, a culinary arts kitchen and café. Creativ.IE will also feature a creative-in-residence program to support entrepreneurial working artists. Led by Arts Connection in partnership with other arts organizations, the San Bernardino City Unified School District, San Bernardino Valley College, CSUSB, and leaders in the creative economy, Creativ.IE will work to establish and promote strong, well-supported pathways into creative careers in the Inland Empire.  
 

440 Court Building: Located in the heart of the Enterprise District, this historical building will complement existing arts assets by providing flexible, multipurpose space for large-scale events and exhibitions, performing arts rehearsals, classes, and conferences. It will also offer sliding-scale office space for local nonprofit organizations. Strong relationships with Creativ.IE, the Garcia Center for the Arts, and other local arts organizations will encourage collaborations that span the local arts community while avoiding duplicative effort and investment.
 

A delivery team composed of decisionmakers from Arts Connection, the Garcia Center for the Arts, and other local arts organizations; the City of San Bernardino; and other relevant stakeholders will identify specific project elements, delegate responsibilities, develop cost estimates, and devise a roadmap for securing funds and phased implementation.

OBJECTIVES

  • Cultivate an ecosystem to support working artists, creative workers, and arts-oriented entrepreneurship

  • Increase coordination and collaboration between local arts organizations and the City of San Bernardino 

  • Provide support to strengthen and grow the arts community and increase revenues from arts-related activities

  • Build strong relationships between the arts community and area K-12 and higher education in order to support arts education and pathways into creative careers

COST

To be determined

EXPLORATORY

Community: Inland Port Career Resource Center

An Inland Port Career Resource Center (IPCRC) in San Bernardino will expand capacity for skilled workforce development by providing transit-accessible training for potential and incumbent workers in the region. Headed up by key stakeholders from Just SB and other relevant entities, the IPCRC will connect area residents with clear, well-supported pathways into high-demand careers that require some level of acquired skill (including those related to climate adaptation). Career pathways will emphasize work-based learning, using earn-and-learn apprenticeship and internship models whenever possible in order to give trainees real-world experience and reduce the likelihood that they will need an additional job in order to make ends meet.


The IPCRC will improve collaboration and coordination within the area workforce development ecosystem by bringing together relevant stakeholders from the private sector, P-12 and postsecondary education, workforce training, state and local government, support services and community organizations in order to support worker success and align IPCRC offerings with employer demand. To maximize impact, the IPCRC will proactively recruit area residents, working with trusted community organizations to tailor outreach so that it speaks to the distinct needs, concerns, and priorities of each target audience. It will also connect trainees to needed wraparound supports as they move along their career pathways so that barriers such as unreliable transportation and lack of childcare, limited career awareness and guidance, and poor study skills do not stand in the way of their success.

OBJECTIVES

  • Establish well-supported and easily navigated pathways into quality jobs in the Inland Empire

  • Increase the number and proportion of Inland Empire residents with quality jobs (particularly within disadvantaged and disinvested communities in the region)

  • Ensure that area employers have access to the skilled workers they need to grow

COST

To be determined

EXPLORATORY

Community: Purposeful Pathways

The Purposeful Pathways initiative will strengthen career pathways of relevance to the San Bernardino economy and community by improving outreach to students and families and expanding student access to programming and wraparound supports. Special care will be taken to work with local communities in a supportive and culturally responsive manner. Outreach and engagement strategies will be tailored to the distinct needs, concerns, and priorities of each target audience. Mutually beneficial partnerships with community organizations that have earned the trust of target audiences will help connect with communities that historically have been harder to reach. In order to ensure maximum benefit to San Bernardino’s disadvantaged and disinvested communities, the initiative will also boost access to needed wraparound supports that will give students peace of mind and support their success as they pursue their passions and prepare for their professional lives. 

 
Decisionmakers from Just SB will work with relevant stakeholders to determine how best to boost awareness of career pathway options and support students as they select and pursue specific pathways.

OBJECTIVES

  • Improve students’ ability to pursue well-supported and easily navigated pathways into quality jobs

  • Increase the number and proportion of San Bernardino students on pathways into quality jobs (particularly within disadvantaged and disinvested communities)

  • Ensure that area employers have access to the skilled workers they need to grow

COST

To be determined

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