The dream of some Norco city leaders to reclaim the grounds of a 100-year-old resort where the rich and famous once lounged moved closer to reality after the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced on Monday, Aug. 4, that the California Rehabilitation Center will close by the fall of 2026.

The CDCR cited the dwindling prisoner population statewide — it’s at its lowest level since the late 1980s, officials said — and the desire to slash the budget as the motive.

There are some 91,000 inmates in the 31 prisons, down 47% from 173,000 in 2006, a news release said. There are 2,766 inmates, along with 1,191 employees, in the Norco prison, a medium-security facility that opened within the Lake Norconian Club decades ago.

The closure will save the state $150 million an

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