A Stockton-based manufactured home operator plans to convert the Garlic Farm RV Park into a “tiny home” community over the next few years.
Harmony Communities purchased the park at 5878 Garlic Farms Drive for $9 million, documents filed on Jan. 6 with Santa Clara County show.
According to the company, the 158-space park will be gradually converted into 400-square-foot homes over the next three years, with the first set expected in early 2021.
“This conversion will bring the largest influx of affordable homes the area has seen in the last 20 years,” said Matthew Davies, Harmony Communities’ president and founder. “We’re providing affordable housing for more than 100 families in an area where the median home price is over $800,000.”
The homes will start at $89,950, and many will have a loft to help maximize the space, according to Harmony Communities.
Current residents will not be asked to leave, according to the company, and they will be given first opportunity to upgrade. Homes will be built as vacancies occur, the company stated, which is expected to take three years based on historical occupancy trends for the Garlic Farm RV Park.
Harmony Communities also intends to install solar power to the entire park by the end of 2021. The 518-kilowatt system will produce 800,000 kilowatts annually, supplying 95 percent of energy needed by the park’s residents, according to the company.
Harmony Communities, which operates 35 manufactured home communities in California, Oregon and Nevada, began installing solar panels at its California properties in 2012, eight years prior to the enactment of state legislation requiring solar panels on all newly constructed homes.
According to Harmony Communities, at its Santa Nella Mobile Home Park in Gustine, the installation of solar panels cut electric bill costs by 87 percent in 2019 and are projected to save more than $3 million over the next 25 years, while also offsetting 638,711 pounds of carbon dioxide every year.
