MURRIETA, CA—The City of Murrieta is focusing on cybersecurity as part of a larger effort to attract additional tech and healthcare companies, its economic development director Bruce Coleman tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. Although Murrieta grew as a bedroom community—it experiencing a 233% population growth from 2000 to 2010 and now has a population of nearly 108,000, making it the largest city in Southwest Riverside County—it is now focused on business growth, says Coleman.

“We have recently updated our general plan to focus on tech businesses' growth, including IT/software, R&D, advanced manufacturing, med device, healthcare, etc.,” Coleman says. “The Council has rezoned large areas along both freeways for office-research-park development. It is a 'big idea,' but with so little land left in the tech corridors of San Diego and Orange County (let alone L.A. County), as well as Temecula, Murrieta is focusing on this type of business growth since we are midway between Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego/Tijuana.”

Coleman adds that the City is also focused on becoming the healthcare center for the region. “With Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta opening the first phase if its teaching hospital in the North Murrieta Tech Corridor and Kaiser Permanente just closing escrow on nearly 40 acres for an 850,000-square-foot master-planned campus in Murrieta, Rady Children's Hospital is moving forward with a new pediatrics-care facility, and HealthSouth bought land in Murrieta for a brain-rehab hospital here.”