The California Strategic Growth Council has granted the City of Coachella a $10 million Community Resilience Center (CRC) Implementation Grant. The funds will be used to convert an existing facility, previously known as Hidden Harvest on Peter Rabbit Lane, into the new Coachella Community Resilience Center. The CRC is envisioned as a multi-purpose hub that will serve as an emergency shelter, food and business incubator, garden space, resource center, and workforce training and development center.
Several partners have been identified to assist with the implementation of the CRC plan. These include GRID Alternatives Inland Empire, Hidden Harvest, The LEAP Institute, University of California, Berkeley, and the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department.
Mayor Steven Hernandez expressed his enthusiasm for the project: “Having all of these essential services housed under one roof at our new Resilience Center is a huge step in the right direction,” he said. “The $30 million we secured over the past few months, coupled with an additional $20 million we are pursuing are all earmarked for the continued expansion of accessible resources for our residents that will continue helping enhance their quality of life.”
The Coachella CRC aims to foster community-driven partnerships and programming. It plans to integrate physical infrastructure components such as solar panels, pet sheltering facilities, solar generators and zero-emission rideshare transportation with social infrastructure elements like small business incubation, workforce training programs, demonstration gardens and other nature-based solutions along with food security measures.
These elements are expected to increase climate resilience while expanding economic opportunities and reducing health disparities as well as environmental and social inequities.
The city’s goal is to create necessary resources for residents who have long experienced disinvestment and hardships. With access to the CRC campus functioning as an emergency shelter, food hub, business incubator and educational center; it aims to provide a sustainable platform for them to thrive. The design of the CRC prioritizes flexibility, sustainability, and accessibility to accommodate the needs of all individuals, including the community’s priority populations.
