In the annual State of the City address Wednesday evening, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson highlighted five key indicators that Riverside is “leveling up” and “rising” with strength and resilience, with its best days still ahead.
Proclaiming that “every metric is going in the right direction,” Lock Dawson told the audience at the Riverside Convention Center that crime and unemployment are down, city revenues and local job creation are increasing, while existing businesses are expanding and new businesses are starting up.
“Riverside is a city that achieves and strives for more,” the mayor since 2020 said. “It is a city that believes progress is a responsibility
According to Lock Dawson, Riverside has successfully focused on improving key quality-of-life indicators — safety and stability, economic opportunities, health and the environment, identity and creating a city that “works for businesses today, residents right now and generations to come.”
Overall crime has decreased 35% since 2023, Lock Dawson reported, citing smarter police work, strong partnerships and adding 88 police officers, allowing the Riverside Police Department to attain full staffing for the first time in 25 years.
“I am proud to report that Riverside is an incredibly safe city and becoming safer every day,” the mayor said.
Riverside’s economy not only growing but is in the midst of transforming, Lock Dawson observed. Roughly 96% of Riverside office space is occupied, giving the city one of the lowest vacancy rates in the United States.
“Companies are not just looking at Riverside,” Lock Dawson said. “They’re choosing us.”
Set in a region that is among the nation’s fastest-growing economies, Riverside drew $4.3 billion in new construction last year and created 18,000 new jobs. Lock Dawson also noted that Riverside Public Utilities offers some of the lowest electricity and water rates in California, and six international companies have set up shop in the city in the last two years, adding to the city’s innovation economy.
“When innovation clusters, jobs follow,” Lock Dawson told the audience at her annual speech. “And leveling up our economy means making City Hall move at the speed of business.”
She spoke about a new self-certification pilot program that aims to help businesses receive building permits quicker. New regulations will make it easier for entrepreneurs to turn underutilized spaces into new businesses, and a new app is encouraging more people to shop locally, the mayor said.
Riverside is improving the local environment while closing gaps in health care, according the mayor reported.
The UC Riverside School of Medicine graduated its largest class of doctors and is building a new teaching hospital, while California Baptist University has doubled its cohort of physician assistants. Additionally, La Sierra University offers an online MBA in Health Care Management.
A nearly $1 billion expansion of Riverside Community Hospital is underway, and an expansion of Kaiser Permanente’s hospital in La Sierra is expected to open in 2027.
Riverside ranks as one of the top 11 cities in the U.S. for installed solar capacity per capita and has launched the world’s only Clean Air Carshare Program with 12 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The city also broke ground at the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center.
“But we must do more,” Lock Dawson said. “By 2027, 70 percent of Riverside’s energy will come from renewable sources, it’s not just good for the planet but good for business”
Riverside also is leveling up the city’s identity, both with residents and visitors, the mayor said.
“People feel connected here,” she told address attendees. “They love where they live. And they’re proud to call Riverside home.
The mayor also touted the city’s Arts and Culture District for its designation as a California Cultural District by the state Arts Council.
The city’s Visit Riverside initiative has reached 20 million people and a new initiative, Preserving Riverside’s Treasures, aims to improve many of the city’s 153 landmarks.
“Through this initiative, we’re committing to protecting and celebrating these places as living parts of Riverside’s future,” Lock Dawson said.
Neighborhood improvements are changing the face of Riverside, where community centers served more than 1.5 million people last year, according to the mayor. Parks and playgrounds were enhanced, with more upgrades planned for Orange Terrace Community Center, Hole Lake and Fairmount Park.
In the Eastside neighborhood, $300 million in state funding will support a new Jesus Duran Library, the renovation of the Cesar Chavez Community Center and the construction of the new Dell Roberts Bordwell Park Gym.
Riverside’s senior centers now serve more than 75,000 seniors and deliver over 31,000 meals annually, Lock Dawson reported. The mayor’s new Senior Forum connected seniors to resources and offered them a place to make their voices heard.
Riverside reached “functional zero” for youth homelessness, ensuring young people ages 18 to 24 can access housing, services and support, according to Lock Dawson. Riverside has 6,000 units of housing planned for seniors, students and families.
“This is Riverside’s moment. This is Riverside’s future. This is Riverside — leveling up,” Lock Dawson concluded.
