By Davida Siwisa James
Apple Valley Review
The history and development of the Town of Apple Valley includes covered wagons, ranches, turkey farms and, notably, the dreams of two men in particular: Newton T. Bass and Bernard “Bud” Westlund.
Bass came to the High Desert in the early 1940s and the desert vistas captured his imagination. He forged a friendship with Stoddard Jess and met many longtime residents who owned ranches covering hundreds of acres throughout Apple Valley.
By 1946, Bass and Westlund opened the Apple Valley Ranchos Land Development Co. Bass envisioned the creation of a town with businesses and homes across the majestic valley of Highway 18.
The Village was the start of bringing that vision to life.
“The Village was probably considered the original downtown of Apple Valley,” Scott Nassif said. Nassif is on the board of Apple Valley Village Property & Business Improvement District. “It was the town center, if you will. That’s where Newton Bass and Bud Westlund set up their first real estate office.”
That first business district is still known today as The Village. Its basic parameters are Highway 18 between Navajo Road on the west to Mesquite Road on the east, with the southern edge at about Ottawa Road to as far north as Esaws Avenue.
“Most of the buildings down there are from the 1940s and 50s,” said Nassif, who serves on the current Town Council and was previously mayor. “Part of the building that I own, Napa Auto Parts, was built in 1946. Then it was expanded upon.” Nassif has been a business owner in the Village since 1975.
“There was a place called The Branding Iron that served as a church on the weekends and a bar in the evenings,” Nassif said. “It was a multi-purpose area at the corner of Central (Road) and Highway 18. There is just a chimney there now.”
As this downtown business area developed and became the hub of Apple Valley commerce, the developers eventually started building more areas to the west of town.
Nassif shared that a planned expansion by Caltrans that would have closed off several roads in The Village prompted the merchants to organize. That collaboration eventually morphed into the Village Merchant’s Group.
“We had street fairs, parades and different things,” Nassif said. “Eventually, we got together and formed a business improvement district.”
The Apple Valley PBID has embarked on a beautification program and helps the local businesses with marketing, signage, security and support networking. The Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce handles marketing for The Village.
“We put it to a ballot after a few years and all the property owners contribute a certain amount to the business improvement district,” Nassif said. “That goes into a pool and there is a board of directors that decides how the funds are spent.”
Nassif pointed to the landscaped center median as one of the improvement projects the merchants have undertaken.
“You’ll see banners on the light posts and we change those out seasonally and for different holidays,” Nassif said.
The Village merchants and board have a supportive and collaborative relationship with the Town Council, which manages the fund from village businesses.
“There are quite a few nice restaurants on that end of town,” Nassif said. “There’s Mama Carpino’s and Las Brisas. A lot of people know about them and come to that end of town.”
The Village recently had one of those “taste of” events called “Tour de Fork” where patrons get to visit one eatery after another for a taste sample.
“We are going to try to make it an annual event,” Nassif said.
For more information on The Village, visit its website at www.avvillage.org.