Waterman Junction, a SunCal Cos. proposed master-planned community to be built south of Barstow, is expected to provide about 25,000 homes in the next 20 to 30 years.

A new recreational lake, parks, trails, a golf course, local shopping and jobs are all part of the plan," said Peter Johnson, San Bernardino County Division president of Irvine-based SunCal.

"This is going to change the face of Barstow forever," said Barstow Public Information Officer John Rader. "The city's population is 24,000 now. At (Waterman Junction) buildout, we could be at a population of 75,000."

SunCal chose the 7,500 acres along Interstate 15 between Stoddard Mountain and Lenwood Roads because of the availability of transportation, the current shortage of housing in the Barstow area and the opportunity to develop a large-scale project, Johnson said.

Scheduled to break ground in 2010, Waterman Junction was designed with "smart-planning principles," Johnson said. Designers focused on creating a community that utilizes cutting-edge technology, causes minimal impact, maximizes resources and preserves open space.

These smart-planning principles include trails and open space, a balance of jobs and housing, mixed-use opportunities and the "ability to deliver significant new infrastructure projects like freeway interchanges to prevent traffic congestion," Johnson said.

Developers hope the community will signal arrival in Barstow for those traveling north along I-15, and will help the area become known as the gateway to the new West.

Waterman Junction, an early name for Barstow, will be visible to the 60 million people a year who pass the area on Interstate 15.

"One of the exciting parts for this community is that SunCal is working with a blank slate," Johnson said. "It's vacant land. When developed, the area will be self-sufficient."

Along with the community's mix of small businesses will be a series of Interstate-15-fronting retail outlets, Rader said.

The lake district is expected to feature a series of waterfront stores and restaurants and an industrial and business park is planned. Because of increased traffic along the Interstate 15 corridor, the Waterman Junction project will make infrastructure and roadway improvements feasible.

SunCal and Barstow officials are working to ensure Waterman Junction is environmentally friendly. Homes will recycle gray water at a treatment plant and reuse it for landscape irrigation, Rader said.

A 26,500-acre conservation area is under development near Highways 395 and 58 to move the endangered tortoise, owl and squirrel species.

Barstow and SunCal are conducting environmental impact reports. "One (report is being conducted) by SunCal for its Waterman Junction specific plan and the other by Barstow for its area plan," Johnson said.

Barstow officials have yet to file an official annexation application for the project area that is now located in the city's sphere of influence, Rader said. After the annexation, a series of environmental and pre-development requirements must be met at the county level.

San Bernardino County Deputy Director of Current Planning Robert Dawson has received no paperwork regarding the proposed project.

"If Waterman Junction is a logical extension of development as far as the county as a whole is concerned, and if we do have a master plan to be implemented over an extended period of time, and assuming that it is well thought out, it will do fine," Dawson said.

The idea of such a massive project is eye-opening, Dawson said. Other projects pending in the county include Hacienda on the Fairview, a 3,100-home development in Apple Valley, and 640 acres being master-planned in Joshua Tree.

Barstow needs 4,479 housing units in the next eight years as the High Desert takes a more prominent role in industry and logistics, said Joe Carreras, program manager of housing and community planning for the Southern California Association of Governments in Los Angeles.

Waterman Junction will benefit the entire High Desert economy, said Peter Soderquist, Victorville's Southern California Logistics Airport director. At buildout, the airport is expected to employ 30,000 people.

"I certainly think Barstow has made some substantial moves to attempt to bring new jobs to the area. The people who will be working there will need housing," said Jeff Simonetti, senior vice president of Government Affairs for the Building Industry Association's Baldy View Chapter.

Although the city lost its opportunity in 2007 to build a pair of job-generating casinos, La Quinta Inn and Comfort Inn hotels are under construction about 10 miles north of Waterman Junction in the city's Lenwood area, Rader said.