What could end up being Manteca’s first housing development featuring 3-story townhouses is being proposed for 3.14-acres  on the west side of the 300 block of Pestana Avenue.

The Paradise Villas townhouses would be sandwiched between the Sandpiper Village Apartments and the Heritage Ranch neighborhood to the south of Joshua Cowell School.

The project is before the Manteca Planning Commission on Thursday when they meet at 6 p.m. at the Manteca Civic Center council chambers, 1001 W. Center St.

The project will create 59 lots to allow the sale of individual townhouse units. They will range in size from 1,600 square feet for a 2-story townhome to 2,300 square feet for a 3-story townhome.

The four unit buildings will be on the north side of an internal drive while the three-unit structure will be along the south side of the street.

The buildings will face one another.

The project includes a community center with a workout room, dog park, and picnic area. A perimeter pedestrian trail will be shaded and illuminated. It will feature distance markers and exercise stations.

A similar townhouse project was proposed  at the same location 18 years ago.

The big objection raised that time came from neighbors in detached one- and two-story homes to the north that did not like the 3-story townhomes looking over their homes. The developer back then addressed those concerns by agreeing to plant trees that would create a visual screen.

The project never broke ground as the housing slowdown that was followed by the mortgage crisis took the wind out of the sail of housing construction in Manteca except on 900 plus lots for single family homes that were developed and ready to build when the Great Recession hit.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com