Downtown Lancaster was platted by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the late nineteenth century as a simple grid of streets, much like many other California railroad towns. Over the next century, Lancaster became a sprawling suburb, losing much of its traditional downtown character. Lancaster Boulevard, the City’s main street, suffered from high-speed traffic, poor pedestrian facilities, excessive parking and reduced retail activity. After initiating change with the completion of the Downtown Specific Plan in 2008, the City retained Moule & Polyzoides to redesign the Boulevard’s streetscape.

The Moule & Polyzoides vision focuses on establishing a new image for downtown Lancaster. It is centered on reconfiguring the Boulevard into a rambla and designing adjacent streets, plazas and paseos to generate a superior public realm. Among the plan’s key elements are wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, awnings and arcades, fewer travel lanes, enhanced crosswalks, abundant street trees and shading, and added lighting, gateways and public art. Lancaster Boulevard has been transformed into an attractive shopping destination, a magnet for pedestrian activity and a venue for civic gatherings, which will help ensure long-term economic prosperity.

The revitalized Lancaster Boulevard has been instrumental in the turnaround of downtown Lancaster. Since project completion:

• The BLVD has attracted 52 businesses since late 2009.
• Revenue from the downtown area is up 119% in 2012 compared to 2007, the year before revitalization efforts began. (The Downtown Lancaster Specific Plan was adopted in 2008.)
• While Lancaster’s assessed property valuation fell 1.25% overall from 2011 to 2012, property values in the downtown area rose 9.53%. This increase was nearly three times the increase of the Amargosa area, the next-highest in the City.
• Private investment is estimated at $130 million.
• Over 800 permanent jobs have been created, in addition to approximately 1,100 temporary construction jobs.
• The project has generated an estimated $280 million in economic output. (Source: California Redevelopment Association IMPLAN Jobs Calculator.)
• Just over 800 housing units have been constructed or rehabilitated.
• Over 145,000 square feet of commercial space has been constructed or rehabilitated.
• New public amenities include American Heroes Park, a 13.5-acre, $7 million facility, and the Lancaster Museum of Art & History, a three-story, 19,246-square-foot complex.
• The overall number of traffic collisions has been cut in half, while injury-related collisions have plummeted 85% as a result of the new streetscape and traffic pattern. (These figures compare the two-year history prior to the transformation with the two years following.)

“Well done. First two blocks are open!!” said Deputy City Manager Jason Caudle shortly after the project’s completion. “Thanks for your help. It looks spectacular.”