PALM DESERT, CALIF. — RBF Consulting (RBF), a Company of Michael Baker Corporation, was selected for a $1.7 million contract for the La Entrada Master Planned Community in the City of Coachella in Riverside County, Calif. The Specific Plan for the La Entrada Master Planned Community, owned by PSAV, LCC, and managed by New West Development, proposes 7,800 dwelling units, recreational park areas and commercial development on 2,200 acres. The project site lies along the foothills of the grade to Chiriaco Summit, with views of the Coachella Valley.

RBF will provide entitlement services, planning, jurisdictional delineation, preliminary engineering, landscape architecture, and master planning of sewer, water, and storm drain systems. In addition, RBF will prepare project reports and environmental documentation for a proposed Interstate 10 interchange at Avenue 50.

"The La Entrada project team, led by client managing partner Terry Manley of New West Development, has assembled a world-class land development team of consultants," stated Bill Green, P.L.S., and RBF senior vice president. "The three lead consultants — RBF, KTGY and the law firm of Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith — are tasked with having the Specific Plan, Development Agreement, and Large Lot Tentative Map entitled in two years. La Entrada is a flagship land development project for our firm."

The La Entrada project is proposed to complete the entitlement process expeditiously with RBF’s expertise to meet the demand for homes in the area. The City of Coachella, incorporated in 1946, is currently updating its General Plan with smart growth and green principles, with a health and wellness component resulting from a grant from Building Healthy Communities. Coachella was one of 14 places in California selected as a partner for the 10-year strategic initiative of California Endowment to create healthy, balanced communities that maximize resources through public/private partnerships.