What will end up being Manteca’s two western most neighborhoods — the 1,237-home Manteca Trails as well as the 637-home Oakwood Trails — are moving toward ground breaking.
Manteca Trails is south of Woodward Avenue directly south of the gated 400-plus home Oakwood Shores community that is just outside the city limits as well as the Oakwood Trails subdivision.
The City Council on Tuesday gave permission for TaylorMorrison Homes to start grading and making infrastructure improvements before the final map is approved. The council granted Raymus Homes similar permission in December in regards to Manteca Trails.
Oakwood Trails is primarily west of the existing McKinley Avenue and north of Woodward Avenue and abuts Oakwood Shores on the west.
It will have 637 single family homes as well as a commercial parcel, a 220-unit apartment complex and two parks.
Manteca Trails on its southern flank is bordered by the cross levee that is being extended east of Airport Way for enhanced 200-year flood protection. As such no other homes will be able to build south of the dry levee west of Airport Way where the levee crosses it unless additional levee improvements are made that are likely to be cost prohibitive.
Given Manteca comes up against Lathrop’s city limits along the railroad tracks, that means Manteca Trails will end up being the western most portion of the city.
The existing dry levee that will be enhanced with rocks beneath it to absorb water to protect its integrity as well as widened to 50 feet. Space will be left if there is a need in the future to widen the levee further. The dry levee will be designed to allow recreational use on top of it which typically means an area for walkers, bicyclists, and joggers.
Woodward Avenue wraps around the northern and western edges of Manteca Trails before it turns into Williamson Road that leads to Turtle Beach RV Resort along the San Joaquin River.
Developers plan on building on the smaller 3,450-square-foot lots first. They expect the plans to range from a 1,400 square foot single story plan with three bedrooms and two baths with one bedroom having the option to be designed and built as a home office to two story homes with 2,000 to 2,400 square feet.
Other lots in the neighborhood will consist of 5,100 square feet, 6,120 square feet, and 10,000 square feet.
Originally a previous developer obtained approval for the project with 1,650 homes. Raymus reconfigured the development to allow for the smaller lots aimed at a more attainable at-market home for buyers as well as larger lots aimed for the executive housing market. Both ends of the housing spectrum are in short supply in Manteca subdivisions now being built as well as other projects on the drawing board.
As redesigned Manteca Trails will be the first neighborhood of its kind to address both the lower and top end of the general housing market in significant numbers.
The future homeowners will be assessed $69 annually to cover the gap of funding needed to serve the neighborhood with police and fire that won’t be covered by the property and sales tax future residents will pay. That is in addition to community facilities district fees that will cover the upkeep and long-term replacement costs for common landscaping, neighborhood parks, and street lighting.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
