Business View Magazine | September 2019

218 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 while providing a balance of jobs, housing, and educational and recreational opportunities for its residents in a safe, well-maintained community. Business View Magazine recently spoke with City of Ontario Executive Director of Economic Development, John Andrews, and Business Operations Director of Economic Development, Bradley Gates, about the city’s growth strategy, as Ontario is slated to double its already significant population in the next decade. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVM: Can you give us an overview of your city from an economic development perspective? Andrews: “We have a lot of connections to our history here; from the initial city plan of the downtown, the grid of streets, and the Euclid Avenue divided median thoroughfare, which is unique for southern California. We’re about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and 40 miles from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. That distance, coupled with the fact that we are at the intersection of some major state and interstate highways, gives Ontario very good locational advantages. On top of that, we have an international airport here. “Ontario has emerged, along with the west Inland Empire, as a hub for businesses that are focused on supply chain and goods movement, so that’s put us on the map in that regard. Several Fortune 500 companies have major investments here – distribution centers that are half a million square feet and up, with hundreds of employees. That’s the bread and butter of our local economy. We ONTAR IO, CAL I FORNI A pictured Kaiser Permanente building