River Islands: $130M spent & not a single home built
MANTECA BULLETIN - January 6, 2008
By Dennis Wyatt Managing Editor
Cambay Group has strong faith in the growth potential of the Northern San Joaquin Valley
So much that they've invested more than $130 million in the 11,000-home River Islands at Lathrop project without selling a single home.
And the European-based privately-held company is getting ready to invest even more:
• It is moving forward with plans to build the first phase of two schools - a kindergarten through fifth grade campus and a sixth through eight grade campus - that will share a 30-acre site.
• This month the firm will write a $500,000 check through the Lathrop Irrigation District to PG&E to set in motion the ability of LID to sell power to future River Islands residents at rates up to 24 percent less than what PG&E charges.
• They will soon break ground on one of the interior bridges across man-made lakes as well as extending four-lane boulevards complete with landscaping.
Cambay Group has already put in place massive levees as well as a four-lane entrance road complete with a new at grade railroad crossing from Manthey Road. It is also landscaped.
The main access ultimately will be from twin bridges crossing the San Joaquin River to the west of the Manthey Road and rail crossings.
Project Manager Susan Dell'Osso anticipates builders will be selected so that the first homes may be occupied in early 2009.
Dell'Osso noted the 150-year-old firm is well aware that the economy is cyclical. They won't start selling homes until the market rebounds sufficiently.
"We don't want our first home buyers to be in a position where they are losing value right after they buy a home," said Dell'Osso.
That is why the company pushed back its original plans to
have the first homes ready for occupancy this month. The firm - which has global market savvy including in the massive Dougherty Valley project in Contra Costa County that took 17 years to develop - determined before the foreclosure mess started hitting that the number of adjustable mortgage loans coming due would put a damper on new housing demand.
The 30-year build-out strategy calls for River Islands to keep tight control on the number of buildable lots released to hand-picked builders.
Cambay will continue to build the major infrastructure such as street as well as developing 16 miles of river access. In future phases, they will also build more segments of the 300-foot wide super levee similar to the one that now protects the first 4,800 home sites, town center, and employment center.
The strategy is part of an overall effort for Cambay to not only protect their investment but those who will live, work and play in the largest planned community of its kind in Northern California.
"What we put in today reflects on what comes afterwards," Dell'Osso said.
That is why Cambay is doing all of the main roads and public improvements including having school construction start before the 188th building permit for housing is issued in River Islands.
The two sister schools are each designed to accommodate 750 students.
Cambay Group first optioned over 10 square miles of land on Stewart Tract in 1989.
They have made $80 million in actual improvements including the super levees that experts believe are the most bullet-proof ever built in California.
The balance of the more than $130 million invested so far includes land purchases, studies, advance payments for water, sewer and electricity.
Dell'Osso said River Islands expects to benefit from the big rush from retail - and now firms interested in large-scale office space as well as employment centers - to the Highway 120 Bypass corridor in Manteca. The seven-mile freeway merges with Interstate 5 right next to River Islands at Lathrop.
"We're thrilled at what Manteca is accomplishing," said Dell'Osso.
River Islands is expected to benefit from the housing demand since it is surrounded by cities with growth caps - Tracy Ripon, Escalon, and Manteca - in an area recognized by state and private sector economists as the region expected to grow the fastest in California over the next 20 years
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