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| The Record, Monday, May 14, 2001 |
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| CONSTRUCTION UNDER WAY ON MOUNTAIN HOUSE |
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TRACY – The earth-moving machines have started working near Old River, marking the next phase in the creation of a new town. The culmination of more than 13 years of planning, Trimark Communities last week started moving earth at the future site of Mountain House. Company officials expect the entire 4,700-acre Mountain Hose area to take 20 to 25 years to build out to its full size of 16,000 homes, with housing for 44,000 people.
Wicklund Neighborhood, the first phase of development, will include about 1,500 homes, including single-family houses and apartments. It’s one of 12 residential areas within the new community and covers 400 acres, including a 35-acre industrial park and 30 acres for offices, plus 21 acres for a school and park. Building permits for the houses should be pulled by summer or fall of 2002, company representatives said.
The work under way between Byron Road and Old River is the initial grading for the watewater treatment plant. The water treatment plant farther up Byron Road also is due to be under construction this month.
Eric Teed-Bose, Trimark planning director, said the company is securing building permits for the backbone infrastructure that will connect Mountain House to those plants. "When that is certified complete, our builders can apply for building permits for the first homes," he said.
Since the project’s master plan was approved in 1994, the start date for the project has been steadily put off as Trimark works on additional approvals.
Mountain House, in the meantime, has been scrutinized by those concerned about environmental and traffic impacts. Teed-Bose described the project in Trimark’s office while surrounded by maps, artists renderings and aerial photos of Mountain House. "When you go from concepts to specifics, you come across a lot of subsequent issues," he said. "Still, this first neighborhood is pretty true to form of what the original vision was."
The original concepts include creation of a community where there is high demand for housing while keeping it away from valuable farmland, company representatives said. "Several universities have used Mountain House as a case study for land-use planning, so there’s a lot of people waiting to see how the grand experiment turns out," Teed-Bose said.
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