Capital plan highlights downtown catalysts, parking-lot opening and large McKinley project for FY26

Assistant City Engineer and CIP Manager Javi Luna presented the proposed FY26 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) at the Corona City Council spring financial workshop, describing a roughly $349 million CIP program that combines carryover projects with new requests.

Luna said the FY26 CIP budget request totals about $349 million, made up of carryover funding of approximately $288 million and new funding requests near $61 million. Funding sources include general fund, special revenue (including Measure A and RMRA), enterprise utility funds and capital-project funds.

Highlights from the CIP presentation: - South Mall parking lot rehabilitation: The contractor is expected to reach substantial completion in May, allowing public use while punch-list items continue into summer. The traffic-signal modifications at Stan Reynolds and Main Street will follow when long-lead poles arrive. - Downtown Sixth Street corridor and nine catalyst projects: Staff are merging several downtown subprojects for efficiency and are coordinating design and construction sequencing to incorporate adjacent work where feasible. - McKinley grade separation: A large capital outlay that drives much of the year-over-year increase in total fund estimates for FY26; staff said it accounts for roughly $46 million of the total funds change across years. - Parks and recreation projects: New and carryover projects include Promenade Park playground repairs and surfacing, new lighting at Promenade, and new pickleball courts design at El Cerrito with an estimated 18-month timeline from design to completion. - Utilities: The CIP includes multiple water and sewer projects (tank work, reclaimed-water mains, PFAS remediation and WARF equipment upgrades); a developer-led 1-million-gallon tank in the skyline 1380 Zone will require a city contribution for a portion of the cost.

Luna told council that the city will present the CIP to the Planning and Parks & Recreation commissions and return to council for final approval in June. Council members asked for project timing, clarity on which items are design versus construction funding, and updates on alley lighting and Hidden Valley Parkway median safety measures; Luna said staff would provide those updates as projects advance.

What’s next: staff will refine carryover schedules and new-request scopes, publish revised CIP materials to commission agendas in May and bring an adoption-ready CIP in June along with the FY26 budget.