There has been a lot of discussion about the Ambassador lately. The City issued a press release in late August, and many people have heard only one version of the story. Rather than answer everything in social media comments, Aubrey and Brett sat down to tell the whole thing: what we’ve done, what we’ve invested, what happened in the permitting process, and where things stand today.
We want to be clear about our posture first. We love Lake Elsinore, and we have served this city for more than twelve years. Our motto is serving the city, being the church. We don’t want this to become a fight against our city or against city officials, and we don’t want anybody attacking anybody. We do believe people deserve the full story.
It started long before we bought it
The Ambassador sparked the original vision for a Dream Center in Lake Elsinore back in 2008. By 2014 we had a detailed written vision for what this property could become: a restored historic building serving the community and, eventually, a residential discipleship and leadership training center.
We were investing in the property long before we owned it. Our volunteers painted the whole building in 2015, working from a boom lift. Over the years we’ve maintained the palm trees, cleared weeds and debris, covered graffiti again and again, and dealt with intruders. We worked with contractors on estimates, with the estate of the prior owners, with attorneys, and with the City. In September 2021 the court approved our bid to purchase it.
Why buy a building in that condition?
It’s a fair question. We knew the building had serious problems, and we never suggested it was move-in ready. We worked with contractors and engineers to understand the scope of the work and the building code requirements, and that process made us confident the property can be restored. We didn’t buy it thinking it would be easy. We bought it because we believed it was worth saving, and that we could work with the City to restore it.
What it’s for
The Ambassador was never intended to be a homeless shelter. Our vision has always been a residential discipleship and leadership training center, and that is what our project description spells out. The upper floors would house people in a highly structured program with an extensive application and interview process, a full curriculum of Christian character formation, Bible training, and life skills, and a real commitment to community service. It is the same model the Dream Center in Los Angeles has run for more than 30 years.
The first floor was always meant to face the public: a 50’s diner with culinary training for residents, a conference center, classrooms, rentable space, and a reception area telling the history of the building and of our walkable downtown. Restore the building, restore the people, serve the community. That has been the vision for more than a decade.
What we’ve done since
The City’s statement says Dream Center did nothing to remedy the property for five years. That doesn’t match our records. Since 2015 our volunteers have put in 28 documented work days and 2,242 worker hours, and hauled roughly twelve forty-yard dumpsters of debris off the property. They removed rusted abandoned vehicles, bird waste, and bee hives, cleared out destroyed diner booths and old fixtures, kept the windows and doors boarded, and installed security lighting and cameras.
That doesn’t mean the building was restored. Anyone can see there is a tremendous amount of work left. There is a big difference between saying the building wasn’t restored and saying Dream Center did nothing.
The physical work was only one piece. At the same time, we were doing the professional work required before we would be allowed to restore it. We hired architects and engineers, digitally scanned the entire building, conducted engineering studies and a soils report, and acquired the adjacent Gearhart property because the project needed more parking and land. We held a town hall at our headquarters in 2024 to answer questions from the community.
How the permit process changed
Before any construction permits, the City required us to obtain a conditional use permit. We submitted applications, worked with planning staff, revised, and answered questions over a long back-and-forth. On August 18, 2023, the City deemed our application complete and determined the project exempt from CEQA, California’s environmental review law. We believed we were moving on to restoration.
In early 2024 the Planning Commission denied the permit, and we appealed. On March 26, 2024, the City Council overturned the CEQA exemption and required additional studies. We kept working. We met with the City Planner to find out what in our project description needed clarification, asked in writing for specific direction, and submitted an updated description in February 2025. In April 2025 the City directed us to begin the full CEQA process. Our architects estimate that process at hundreds of thousands of dollars and three to five years, with no guarantee of approval at the end.
People often ask why we didn’t just fix the building. We couldn’t skip the permitting process. We were being told to fix the building while being required to finish a permit process before we could legally undertake the restoration. We never abandoned the vision, and we never refused to remedy the problems with the building.
This year
In March 2026 the City took legal action seeking to demolish the Ambassador, on the position that the building is a public nuisance and a safety hazard. We presented our evidence, including our structural reports and the permitting history. On July 21 the Riverside County Superior Court granted the City’s request. That was devastating. We appealed and asked the Court of Appeal for emergency relief. Demolition activity began on August 6, and on August 7 the Court of Appeal granted our request and halted it. Before the order took effect, essentially all of the roof tiles had been removed.
We are now in the appeal process, and the stay has halted demolition for the moment. We don’t know the outcome, and there is no guarantee. We believe we have a legitimate case to make, and we’re going to make it. The full, dated timeline is on our press page.
Why not tear it down and build new?
We feel a strong calling to restore historically significant properties like this one. Franklin Heald, the founder of our city, built the Ambassador in 1887. Early City Council meetings were held there, and the first Elsinore High School class met there. Like so much in our city, it has been abused and neglected, and it is still valuable and worth restoring.
We also did the math. We obtained preliminary bids for a new building with the same program, and the cost came out essentially the same as restoration. A new build also means demolition costs, a full environmental process for a new structure, and zoning requirements that could keep the project from ever happening. Given the choice, we will preserve and showcase our history every time.
Is the building safe?
The building needs to be restored and is not ready for occupancy. We’ve never said otherwise. There is a difference between that and a building that must be demolished. Structural engineers assessed the Ambassador in 2021 and again in June 2026, and both times concluded it can be restored.
We agree with the City that public safety matters. Every property owner should be held accountable for a safe property, and being a nonprofit exempts no one from reasonable laws. Where we disagree is whether demolition is the only reasonable solution, and whether the history of the last five years is being accurately represented.
What we’re asking for
It’s simple. We want the opportunity to restore the Ambassador. We’re not asking for an exemption from safety requirements or for special treatment. If there are legitimate safety issues, let’s address them. If there are legitimate permitting requirements, let’s meet them. If something needs to be redesigned, let’s redesign it. If the building can be safely restored, it deserves the chance.
Our faith is not in the Ambassador. If the building is saved, we’ll praise God. If it comes down, we’ll still praise God, because the building isn’t our mission. People are our mission, and Lake Elsinore is our mission field.
So pray. Pray for Lake Elsinore and its leaders, for peace in our community, for our team and our properties, for our attorneys, and for wisdom for the courts. Pray the stay remains in place until the appeal is heard. Pray for the Ambassador.
If you’re following this and you’re angry, we understand, and we’re asking you to put that energy into prayer. Share the story with the people in your life. Please don’t attack anybody. Stand with us in truth, in humility, and in hope. If you want to put your support on the public record, here is how to write in.
