It’s hard to envision a high concentration of true “million dollar homes” in the South County given today’s housing market.

Lathrop, though, is positioned to have 990 of them as part of the River Islands at Lathrop planned community of 11,000 homes, town center, and business park.

River Islands will offer the unique draw of recreating a river habitat with unparalleled direct river access with a 300-foot wide super levee that will be turned into a greenbelt park.

Those 990 home sites are on the levee with views of the greenbelt park plus river as well as being above — and looking over — the River Islands at Lathrop development. That will provide rare million dollar views of the river, the Delta, the Sierra, the Coastal Ranges and the interior of River islands. You’ll even be able to see Mt. Shasta on a clear day

True executive housing is essentially an economic draw for not just Lathrop but Manteca as well.

Retail consultants, office developers, and real estate professionals all agree that Manteca and Lathrop need executive-style housing to hit the promised Mother Lode of high paying white collar jobs and high-end stores. And River Islands will provide it.

The $11 billion planned community being pursued by Cambay Group probably won’t see the first of 11,000 planned houses built until late 2013 or early 2014 given the current market conditions. Its planned community also includes other housing designed to appeal to single, young professionals as well as executives with families.

There are interior golf courses as well as lakes that will have executive-style housing plus urban-style condos above retail and restaurants planned along the town square just West of the San Joaquin River.

The River Islands project also includes provisions for more than 2.2 million square feet of space for an employment center.

Cambay Group has the wherewithal - financially and otherwise - to pull the project off. By being patient they aren’t devaluing the investment that they’ve made so far that is pegged in excess of $180 million. They will essentially have everything ready to go - bridges, a school, a retail power company with lower rates, and flood protection - when the economy improves.

River Islands can create a major economic juggernaut that ultimately could make the South County the premier region of the Northern San Joaquin Valley.