What could be Manteca’s first four-story apartment complex — and the only newer apartment construction with an interior hallway on each floor — is being proposed on Wawona Street east of Airport Way.
The one-story, 44-unit complex is being proposed on three parcels being combined to make a 1.67 acre site.
Most of it is tucked behind existing homes along Wawona built when they were not in the city limits.
A narrow parcel that aligns with the intersection of Boxcar Drive and Wawona Street will serve as the sole access point.
Planned land use to the north of the proposed apartment complex is high density residential in a commercial mixed use zone.
To the south, it is low density residential and commercial, to the west residential estate, and to the east general commercial.
Each of the four floors would have 11,999 square feet apeice.
The 44 units would be split between one bedroom, one bathroom units of 832 square feet; one bathroom, one bedroom units of 774 square feet; two bedroom, one bathroom units of 991 square feet; and two bedroom, two bathroom units of 1,388 square feet.
The four-story building would be 59 feet high.
The complex would have an elevator and two stairways.
There would be a separate one-story office building.
The Wawona Apartments project will be before the Planning Commission when they meet Thursday, April 2, at 6 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
Airport Way is turning
into new housing hot spot
The Wawona is among the many developments along — or within a quarter of a mile — of Airport Way that is making the corridor the new Manteca hot spot for housing.
Three builders have unveiled proposed projects that will eventually add 1,465 additional homes as Manteca growth heads northward
The largest is 818 homes on seven different parcels — four abutting Airport Way and three adjacent to those along Lovelace Road.
The three proposals also include a 500-home project being pursued by national builder DR Horton east of Airport Way and immediately north of where Kiper Homes at Indelicato is now building 177 homes nestled against Del Webb at Woodbridge.
DR Horton in 2025 completed the 154-home North Main Commons on North Main Street at Northgate Drive. The firm is currently building 134 homes in Alpine at Villa Ticino along Airport Way at Louise Avenue. Villa Ticino, overall, will add 760 homes plus 324 apartments at build out
Between Villa Ticino, the 827-home Lumina at Machado Ranch (Woodward and Airport), Kiper Homes at Indelicato, the 114-home Kiper “paired homes” project south of Yosemite Greens and the golf course there are lots being created with the installation of infrastructure underway for 1,547 more homes along the Airport Way corridor.
If you add the apartments along the corridor that have been approved or are being reviewed — 92 units in the Center Pointe complex south of the Center Street extension to Airport Way, the 24 units in the Waterfall complex between Yosemite and the golf course, the 44 units on Wawona and the 324 Villa Ticino units — it adds 484 apartments for 2,131 housing units.
Toss in the three recently submitted projects envisioned to accommodate 1,465 homes and there are 3,596 housing units that are lined up to be added to the Airport Way corridor.
Using the City of Manteca average of 3.11 people per housing unit, those 3,596 homes have the potential to add 11,183 residents to the city’s population.
That is in addition to growth taking place in the south, in the east and various in-fill endeavors in Central Manteca.
To put the potential for 11,183 more residents along the Airport Way corridor in perspective, Ripon currently has a population of 16,092 and Manteca overall is at 95,000.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
