Work on Madera’s 6,578-home Gateway Village starts July

Source: The Business Journal
Written by Chuck Harvey

Initial grading is slated to begin in July for the long-planned 6,578-home Gateway Village development in Madera, a project that faced multiple delays after developer Castle & Cooke acquired it in 1990. New developer Gateway Village Development LLC purchased the 2,062-acre master-planned community site in 2010 and is ready to get rolling. Now in possession of a tentative map for the project, the developer sees growth ahead for the area and surging demand for master-planned communities. Gateway Village Development had the advantage of taking on a project that already had plans and approvals in place. The development will be situated at the corner of Highway 41 and Avenue 12 just north of Fresno. Gateway Village will contain residential, commercial and multi-use property and include a high school and four elementary schools. It will be broken down into five villages with homes on 50-110-foot lots. Build-out of all five villages is expected in about 19 years. The first model homes should be ready in spring of 2016. Tim Jones, member and manager of Gateway Village Development, said the Gateway Village development will be renamed, but many of the original plans remain the same. Speaking to a group at the University Business Center, Craig School of Business at Fresno State, he said environmental challenges that delayed the project when Castle & Cooke was the developer have been resolved. “They were resolved in 2010,” Jones said. Jones said that in taking on the project, Gateway Village Development made it clear it is not a homebuilding company. “We sell blocks (of property),” he said. The blocks, also known as super pads, include construction of some improvements like internal roads, storm drains, fiber optic lines, storm drains, landscaping and village walls. Utilities are supplied to each of the blocks. Finished home lots, including curbs and sidewalks, are left to the builder. Gary Mason, owner of 2M Development Corp. in Clovis, said that large master-planned developments like Gateway Village have become a rarity in the area. “We have not seen any here in Fresno for ages,” he said. Mason said the village, if successful, would be great for the area’s real estate market and in putting contractors back to work. He said the biggest challenge for a big project like Gateway Village right now is water availability. Jones pointed out that the village would have multiple water sources including groundwater, water from the San Joaquin River and water from Westside Mutual Water Co. and Madera Irrigation District. A holding tank will also be constructed to hold a backup water supply for the development. About four holding tanks will be installed, including one for Village A. Mike Miller, Central Valley president for Lennar, said Gateway Village has overcome water and sewer issues and the whole master-planned community concept looks pretty good. “I am anxious to see the finished design,” Miller said. He said the project will be built in stages, so the market should remain good, rather than being overbuilt. And the location is good, he said. “Moving north across the river seems the natural thing to do,” Miller said. Village A will be constructed as part of the first phase of a five-village project. “The first village will have 858 lots and include a school site,” Jones said. What makes the development unique is its planned ties with agriculture. The project site is planted in olives, oranges, pistachios and almonds. And the new developer would like to maintain an area for production of fruit, nuts and other crops for the residents of Gateway Village. “There will be a plot of land for onsite use,” Jones said. The initial plan is to provide space for community gardens. In addition, reminders of the area’s rich agriculture heritage will be incorporated into landscaping and parks. A report on the project stated that wastewater generated during the first phase would be treated to tertiary standards suitable for land application to a variety of agricultural crops. Some of the produce would be sold to nearby restaurants, Jones added. He said the developer would like to see a restaurant and food market in the immediate area of the development to serve the residents. Jones said a subsidy might be provided for someone to open a grocery store near Gateway Village. The development will also contain pocket parks, but instead of installing traditional play structures like Jungle Jims, they will contain rock structures to climb. Landscaping for Gateway Village will be designed to use as little water as possible, Jones said, adding, “our architects are working on that.” The development will feature a trail system, soccer fields and a baseball field. A master homeowner’s association will set rules for the entire development, Jones said. He pointed out that although demand for new homes slowed starting in 2008, it is expected to pick up again. Currently the Fresno-Clovis area has demand for about 2,500 new homes annually, Jones said. Although it is not yet known what homebuilders will construct housing at Gateway Village, many local homebuilders have indicated interest, Jones said. The added population created by the development will signal a need for road improvements in the immediate area. Jones said a Highway 41-Avenue 12 interchange will be needed sometime down the road. Also, Highway 41 would need to be widened, he said. To help cover the cost of the road improvements, a road impact fee of $10,000 a house will be charged to the developer.

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