There is no development today at the intersection of South Main Street and Atherton Drive except for a home that was once in the country.
That could all change in the coming several years with several projects now being pursued.
One of those projects — the 210-unit SOMA apartments endeavor — proposed for the intersection’s southeast corner is before the Manteca Planning Commission on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m.
It had been scheduled before the commission this past week but the developer asked for a postponement.
Access to the SOMA Apartments will be via a gated entrance off of Atherton Drive. There will be a second exit only for residents via a gate off of South Main.
The complex will include studios, as well as one-, two- and three-bedrooms units. The will be clustered in 10 two- and three-story buildings along Main, Atherton and the east property line.
Carports will back up to existing homes to the south. There will be 363 parking spaces including 38 with vehicle chargers. Of the spaces, 218 will be covered.
There will also be a clubhouse, swimming pool, and dog park as part of the complex.
The advent of the apartment project is good news for those frustrated with the often congested intersection at Woodward Avenue and South Main Street.
That’s because it could trigger the installation of traffic signals at the intersection.
When it happens will depend on whether ground breaks first on 210 apartments on the southeast corner of South Main and Atherton Drive or work in the northern phases of the 1,301-home Griffin Park neighborhood now under construction.
The proposed SOMA Apartments — should they be built first — will require developers to pay for the $575,000 signalization project.
The apartments that are part of five endeavors in the immediate area that Manteca has determined will require:
*South Main Street to be widened to six lanes between the 120 Bypass ramps and Woodward Avenue.
*South Main Street to be widened from two to four lanes to a point south of a future roundabout with the construction of the Antone Raymus Parkway.
*Placements of a median that will force only right tuns into and out of development now in place and planned along South Main between the 120 Bypass and Woodward Avenue.
The ultimate design of the traffic improvements in the area is based on the city’s:
*Approval of the 1,301-home Griffin Park project now being built on the west side of South Main south of Woodward Avenue.
*The city’s approval of the Marketplace at Main shopping center on the southwest corner of Atherton Drive and Main that has yet to start construction. It will be anchored by a 50,071-square-foot SaveMart plus have 55,000 square feet of additional retail space along with a McDonald’s and car wash.
*The proposed Quintal Road project on the northeast corner of Atherton and Main that will have 672 apartments, 48 duplexes, and 98 homes.
*The potential for 13,200 square feet of retail commercial and 430 apartments on the northwest quadrant of the Atherton-Main intersection.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
