Transcan earlier this year announced plans for Canyon Crossings, which is due to take shape on an 84.7-acre site zoned as a mixture of C-O (commercial or office use) and C-2 (commercial). Transcan Development recently filed requests for zoning changes that, if approved, would have allowed office buildings on all commercially zoned land and set aside a 14-acre tract for multifamily development. Transcan has dropped its request for the change to apartment zoning as well as a plan to develop a movie theater at the project.

Transcan's president Robert Bahen says the company dropped the plans after a recent meeting with Philip Rizzo, executive director of the March Joint Powers Authority, and Linda Fisher, an aide to 44th District Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Corona). Bahen says Transcan eliminated the components "in the spirit of cooperation" and gain support from Calvert and the JPA for the retail project. The development already has the support of Riverside city officials, but the Joint Powers Authority was never keen on having the apartments or the theaters near the March Air Reserve Base.

Transcan sought the backing of the Joint Powers Authority because the site is near the air base and the JPA influences what gets built in the area. Calvert is typically consulted on matters affecting the air base because he's been instrumental in securing funding and other related matters to the air base.

Canyon Crossings is part of the Canyon Springs 180-acre master-planned commercial hub in the city of Riverside, near the border of Moreno Valley. Plans call for a mixture of large scale retail, specialty stores, restaurants and cafes. The shopping center, which is currently in the entitlement phase, is projected to open by late 2004.