If you’re hoping someone replicates the downtown gathering place vibe of communities such as Pleasanton, Livermore, and Tracy but with a distinctive Manteca twist, keep your fingers crossed.

The acquisition of Orchard Valley by Grupe Huber couldn’t have happened at a better time.

Manteca is netting households with each sale of new homes south of the 120 Bypass that are comfortably north of $110,000 a year.

It’s a growth — judging by the 978 single family home starts in the fiscal year ending June 30 and well over 10,000 other housing units moving through the development pipeline — that isn’t going to stop any time soon.

Add yet another act of the Bay Area re-inventing tech — this time leading the way in artificial intelligence — coupled with Manteca’s strategic location for commuters as well as distribution means growth is about as endangered here as flies on a dairy.

Toss in the expansion of ACE and the coming of Valley Link, and Manteca-Lathrop is at the heart of an emerging, unparalleled California rail hub for commuters and day trippers.

So what, you might ask.

Anyone aware of how things have been shaping up in the past 20 years should have a grasp where things are going.

The “so what” is Orchard Valley.

It has the location.

Downtown Manteca’s promise and resilience has been the fact for 106 years. It has remained not just at the heart of a growing city but at the crossroads of both the major north-south arterial and the only east-west arterial that connects commercial areas on the city’s flanks.

Orchard Valley, based on existing and projected development patterns, is going to be at the heart of the city in terms of Manteca’s population.

Equally important, Union Road and the 120 Bypass is at the center of the Stockton-Modesto-Tracy triangle with close to 800,000 consumers within a 25-mile or so radius.

The location oozes high visibility given it is midway on the 120 Bypass right on top of a diverging diamond interchange.

It has the design in place.

Orchard Valley was created to be part of the genre, generally known as a lifestyle center, complex with a faux “Main Street.”

That is why all of the in-line space faces a street with diagonal parking and wide, wide sidewalks conducive to al fresco dining and street-style entertainment diversions.

Toss in water fountains, trees, and a nice manmade lake with an engaging plaza area for events such as those conducted over the years from the United Way Chocolate & Art endeavor to the Great Valley Bookfest.

The ingredients are already there for a retro Main Street vibe with coveted modern amenities.

It has the big drawing cards.

They include Bass Pro Shops, where more than 95 percent of its customer base doesn’t reside in Manteca, and the 16-screen AMC theatre.

You could also include JC Penney in the mix.

It has the controls.

Orchard Valley is private property.

They must abide by rules governing retail centers designed for public access.

But what they have never had to tolerate in any form, as do the counterparts in downtown areas, are the homeless loitering, camping, parking.

That’s because Lifestyle Street, et al, aren’t public streets.

And given there is one property owner, they don’t have to worry about property owners and tenants agreeing to work together to stage events, market, and conduct promotions. The cost of doing so is part of the lease.

It has “built-in” — and to be built — high density to create a walkable neighborhood.

The Atherton has 460 apartments next door to Bass Pro Shops. Another 300 apartments have been approved kitty corner from Orchard Valley near Union and Atherton.

That is in addition to being in the middle of single family residential growth — and what is already in place — tied together by the road destined to be “the commercial street” of Manteca’s future, Atherton Drive.

Development is occurring on — or within a mile of it — all the way from the area bordering the gated community of Oakwood Shores in the west to a point in the east where by this time next year will have a link in place to connect with Austin Road.

Atherton Drive, which at that point has already turned south, will eventually extend into the Austin Road Business Park that has zoning approved to accommodate residential development that could yield 10,200 residents.

Manteca officials over the years have hinted at the potential of Orchard Valley to be essentially an auxiliary town center.

That manifested in discussions to establish a police substation not for the center per se but south Manteca in the in-line space as well as twice exploring the possibility of housing either a branch library or a new main library at the complex.

From a retailer-restaurant perspective, Orchard Valley offers the well-positioned location to access Manteca consumers, those in the immediate region and Bass Pro Shops’ “100-mile” draw.

Given Grupe Huber has a sizable investment in acquiring Orchard Valley, it is highly unlikely their “revitalization” efforts will stray far from maximizing what was started in 2008.

Poag & McEwen’s outlet mall conversion was delirious given the basic collapse of the nearby Tracy Outlets, the complete collapse of the Lathrop Outlets, and building of the San Francisco Outlets in Livermore.

Tearing down in-line space they are buying to put apartments in space is highly questionable given the growing market and the readymade space they have.

If anything, Grupe Huber that also has apartment complexes in their portfolio, and should be given leeway to ponder adding to the square footage.

It could be more commercial space, it could be residential, it could be a combination of both.

The need for 1,922 parking spaces was rooted in 1970 planning standards.

The case could be made for less parking and more development.

But that’s getting a bit ahead of the game.

Whatever exact course Grupe Huber takes, you can assure they will do so to make a profit instead of finding a creative legal way to write off their investment for a tax advantage.

 This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com