The March Joint Powers Commission<\/a>, the panel of elected officials overseeing the authority, \u201cis committed to bringing this important medical project to fruition, and they will be focused over the next few months on identifying an experienced partner who can move the project forward without further delay,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n In a statement delivered via text, March1 says: \u201cWe are shocked and dismayed that (the authority) is not honoring their contractual obligations to March1.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to not following the requirements of our contract, it now appears that (the authority) is walking away from its commitment to regional healthcare,\u201d the statement adds.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time that healthcare is such a critical need for our region, this action is not only a violation of our contract but also slows down the delivery of new critical healthcare resources and all the high paying construction and healthcare jobs that will come with it.\u201d<\/p>\n March1 \u201cwill pursue every legal remedy available to us, and we will continue our focus on providing this badly needed healthcare campus to the region,\u201d the statement concludes.<\/p>\n Martin replied that March1\u2019s statement \u201cignores the central issue: after more than 15 years of controlling (authority)-owned property, the promised healthcare projects \u2014 including a state-of-the-art hospital and holistic medical campus \u2014 were never delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDuring that time, the site remained undeveloped, infrastructure continued to deteriorate, and public safety concerns persisted despite repeated commitments to move the project forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor more than fifteen years, (the authority) has patiently and consistently supported efforts to develop a new healthcare campus because we recognize the region\u2019s critical need for expanded healthcare services,\u201d Martin added.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout that time, the authority provided numerous opportunities and extensions to allow March1 LLC to fulfill the commitments it made over many years, but they were unable to deliver on those commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n In a June 30 letter<\/a> to the authority, March1 Co-Manager Dan Niemann wrote the developer \u201cis willing to accept the extension periods proposed by the Authority\u201d with new escrow closing dates of Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.<\/p>\n The need for an extension stemmed from the project\u2019s lenders wanting to know what changes, if any, the county required to the project\u2019s road and street grid, Niemann wrote. The county gave written confirmation about the grid on June 15, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now have what we need to include in the underwriting package for financing the purchase\u201d of project land, Niemann wrote, adding the developer sent a $40,000 check for an extension fee and March1 \u201cintend(s) to work diligently to close on the financing transactions \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n In a written response to Niemann<\/a>, Martin wrote the authority, formed to redevelop ex-military land when the base downsized to March Air Reserve Base<\/a> in the 1990s, \u201ccategorically rejects\u201d the developer\u2019s assertion about the road grid \u201cas inconsistent with\u201d the terms of the most recent amendment to the pact between March1 and the authority.<\/p>\n The authority\u2019s decision adds more uncertainty to a project that\u2019s long been in limbo. The promise of more hospital beds is especially tantalizing in the Inland Empire, which historically lacks the health care resources<\/a> of other parts of California.<\/p>\n In 2010, the authority and March Healthcare Development struck a deal to turn a 236-acre site between Cactus Avenue, Heacock Street and Riverside Drive into a health care campus anchored by a medical center. Plans at the time called for a $3.7 billion project supporting as many as 7,200 jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re celebrating something no one has ever done in the world,\u201d Schwarzenegger said at the groundbreaking ceremony. \u201cWe\u2019re building the first health and wellness city.\u201d<\/p>\n Sixteen years later, the hospital remains unbuilt while ex-air force land near it has become a business park, Metrolink station, parks, trails and housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Commission officials are worried that \u201cvacant buildings and aging infrastructure\u201d on the project site \u201ccontinue to hinder redevelopment and pose public safety risks, including recurring gas leaks from a century-old natural gas system serving the area,\u201d according to Martin.<\/p>\n Optimism for the project rebounded in 2025, when the commission approved a property sale to March1<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we were super excited that we got to a point where everybody just sharpened their pencils, took out their calculators and made it happen,\u201d Moreno Valley Councilmember Ed Delgado, a commission member, said at the time.<\/p>\n Also in 2025, Niemann said Riverside Medical Clinic bought 10 acres of the site for an 110,000-square-foot outpatient and surgical center and that the developer had $440 million in financing to buy 25 acres for a 100-bed acute care hospital, with construction starting in 2026 and finishing in 2029.<\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/RPE-L-MARCHLIFE-0612-32.jpg\")
From right, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joins Gresham Savage and Don Ecker of March HealthCare in applause during a July 2010 dedication ceremony for the March LifeCare medical campus. (File photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise\/SCNG)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/RPE-L-MARCH-0702.jpg\")
Over the years, authority officials have said the developer missed a number of construction deadlines requiring extensions to the agreement. Last year, Niemann blamed the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> and an eight-year struggle to bring water to the project site for the delays.<\/p>\n