Palmdale and Regional Partners Fund $85 Million Multi-Agency Regional Resiliency Center

PALMDALE, CA - The City of Palmdale is partnering with the state, Los Angeles County, City of Lancaster and the Antelope Valley Union High School District to develop the Multi-Agency Regional Resiliency Center (MARRC). The $85 million project is funded by a coalition of agencies, including the City of Lancaster with $31.5 million from Measure LC funds, the State of California with $20.5 million, Los Angeles County with $13 million and Antelope Valley Union High School District with $10 million toward the project. Palmdale's contribution consists of $2.5 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and $7.5 million from the City's general fund. The project is not funded by Measure AV earmarks.

"The MARRC will yield benefits during both times of crisis and peace. Our investment gives us a chance to leverage regional funding to achieve this project. The $10 million contribution from Palmdale will benefit our residents and neighboring communities during emergencies. Supporting this project was an effective way to create an important asset for crisis emergency response. The City is proud to be a part of this innovative project and uses the scale of Antelope Valley to benefit all," said Mayor Pro Tem Richard J. Loa.

The MARRC includes a 140,000-square-foot event space, a 23,000-square-foot emergency operations center and a 7,500-square-foot culinary community kitchen. The facility is expected to be completed by October 2025 and will serve as an important resource for the Antelope Valley community in times of need.

The facility can be converted into a 1,000-bed climate-controlled evacuation center that will be available for Palmdale residents. The future community kitchen will include an extensive commercial kitchen that will be used to feed first responders and residents during emergencies. Additionally, the emergency operations center will double as an auditorium with a capacity of 300 to 400 seats, ensuring the facility provides value to the community outside of crisis situations.

Additionally, the center will include a state-of-the-art energy management system that uses locally generated solar power to produce hydrogen, securing a power source that is resilient so the center remains fully operational during emergencies.