Non-profit South County Housing teams up with South Valley
Developers to build 230 homes
Morgan Hill – It’s anyone’s guess when the Madrone Plaza housing development in north Morgan Hill will be finished, but builders are shooting for 2009.
Developers of the 230-home project, which will include townhouses and row houses on 16 acres on the corner of Monterey and Cochrane roads, say they still need to compete for construction rights in slow-growth Morgan Hill, where only 250 new homes are allowed each year. So far, South Valley Developers and South County Housing, two developers who are building the project jointly, have approval for most of the Madrone Plaza homes.
“Some allocations were awarded in last year’s competition,” said Scott Schilling, principal of South Valley Developers. “But we still have about 56 allocations we have to compete for.”
Schilling is confident the project – designed for low, moderate, median and market-rate sales – will reach its intended size even if it takes three years.
In the meantime, he’s excited about the project’s “neo traditional” features.
“It’s called new urbanism,” he said. “There’s density but we still provide open space.”
The development will feature craftsman architecture and outdoor amenities like basketball and bocce ball courts and a swimming pool. Also planned for Madrone Plaza is a clubhouse, tot lots and landscaped grounds. A homeowners association will pay the costs.
Home sizes will range from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet. Buyers will have a choice between studios and one-bedroom condos as well as two- and three-bedroom condos and patio town homes. Private terraces and two-car garages will also be available.
Candace Koo, a project manager for non-profit South County Housing, which builds affordable housing in Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and other cities, said she hopes the first phase of units will be filled by December 2008.
South County Housing plans to contribute 26 detached homes and 69 row houses to the project.
“They’re two separate developments, but we’re going through construction at the same time,” Koo said. “We have a really good working relationship with South Valley Developers.”
Koo said mixed-income planning makes sense from a community development perspective.
“We’re a non-profit organization,” she said, “whose goal is to provide opportunities for housing for all people.”
South Valley Developers, a private company based in Morgan Hill, purchased the site this year from Venture Corporation, a Marin County-based developer that owns a significant portion of Morgan Hill Ranch, a sprawling 350-acre business park touted as the largest in Silicon Valley. The rough boundaries of the park are U.S. 101 to the east, Cochrane Road to the north and Monterey Road to the west.
South Valley Developers reported paid $6.65 million for the land, or $421,500 per acre, according to CoStar Group, a real estate information provider.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
