|
Back to Article Index
Stockton Record - May 14, 2005
Grupe Co. unveils $3B plan. 7,000-home project Sanctuary would be completed in 2023
By David Siders
Record Staff Writer
STOCKTON — Brookside developer The Grupe Co. aims to build 7,000 homes in a bulging subdivision more than twice the size of Brookside, according to a plan made public Friday.
The $3 billion subdivision — named Sanctuary — would include a marina, shops, schools, churches, a winery and a working neighborhood farm, developer Fritz Grupe said. The proposed development, built on a Delta island just south of Eight Mile Road, would take until 2023 to complete, he said.
Initial documents for the project were submitted to city officials Friday.
Grupe Senior Vice President Shane Hart said he expects plans for the massive development to be approved within two years. Homes could be built starting in three years, he said.
The project will include gated communities; ungated, affordable condominiums; and near-mansions with sprawling yards.
"When you get down to it, you've got to build a house people can afford," Grupe said.
Company officials admit they are a little concerned about waiting so long to finish the project. The housing market, which is booming today, could burst and bloom again more than once in the next 18 years, Grupe acknowledged.
Grupe has over the decades developed Lincoln Village West, Quail Lakes and Brookside, among other upscale developments. The Brookside development began 20 years ago and now is near completion.
The Sanctuary subdivision is planned for Shima Tract, a sunken Delta island located just south of Eight Mile Road. It would require extensive levee work to protect it from flooding.
The tract is also the subject of a lawsuit in which the Sierra Club claims the city of Stockton violated state environmental laws last year when it added the farmland to its growth map.
Eric Parfrey, chairman of the club's Mother Lode chapter, said expanding into the Delta would affect water quality and the species that live there.
"There's a very real possibility that the cumulative impacts of placing tens of thousands of residents close to the Delta could really seriously affect the state water supply," he said. "At some point, we're going to crap in our own nest."
But Parfrey said Grupe builds better subdivisions than most developers and that he and the developer would continue to negotiate about the land and about Parfrey's aim to establish a protected belt of agricultural land between Stockton and Lodi.
A greenbelt would not affect plans for Sanctuary, located just south of Spanos Park West.
The proposal has been well-received by city officials.
"I love it," City Manager Mark Lewis said. "It's just exactly what you'd like to see happen."
Details of the proposed development include:
-Unlike Brookside, all seven miles of levees surrounding the project would be open to the public.
-Apartments, condominiums and single-family homes costing between $250,000 and $1.5 million in the current market.
-Lots ranging from 3,000 square feet to a full acre.
-Homes on man-made lakes and in wooded land.
-A six-lane road would connect Hammer Lane to Shima Tract. It would split into two one-way drives and wind through woods before converging at a bridge at the subdivision's entrance.
-Neighborhood includes a 220,000-square-foot shopping center with a grocery store and health club.
-No big-box stores.
-More than 300 acres of parks and open space, including 12 miles of trails within the parks and along the Delta levee.
-A 420,000-square-foot office center, about half the amount of office space in Brookside. Grupe officials say the city wants most office buildings downtown.
-A 50-acre vineyard and olive orchard where homeowners could buy rows of fruit. They would then be able to make their own personal mix of wine or olive oil at the subdivision's winery.
Back to Article
Index
|
