The first townhouse project in Manteca in at least 22 years appears ready to move forward.

The developers of Diamond Villas have posted bonds and entered into a new agreement with the city to build 43 townhomes on 2.9 acres between the 600 blocks of Grant and Lincoln avenues north of Edison Street and south of Frances Street in Central Manteca.

It will include the extension of Grant Avenue south roughly to the northeast corner of the Bank of Stockton property.

There will still be a gap between the end of Grant Avenue and Edison Street until such time the property it would go through is redeveloped.

The new Diamond Villas development agreement for the infill project is before the City Council when they meet Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Diamond Villas townhouses are three stories and are attached in eight clusters with the largest number of units clustered together being seven facing Grant Avenue.

 Six attached townhouses will face Lincoln Avenue.  
Two-car garages will be on the ground floor with residential quarters on the second and third floors.

 The three-story townhouses will range in size from 1,881 to 2,231 square feet. All garages will face private streets with four-foot driveway aprons.
The majority of the townhouses will have minimum front yard setbacks of 10 feet except for nine units being built next to the common area in the center of the project. They will have no setback. Front yards will have a minimum of one tree each.
The common area will include a clubhouse with exercise room, a swimming pool, and a BBQ area. The common areas as well as landscaping will be maintained through a home owners association.
 More than 12 years ago Magnolia Court — subsidized senior housing apartments — was built along Grant Avenue behind Dribbles Car Wash and Burger King to the west of the project.
Overall the project has 30 percent open space. It also exceeds parking requirements for high density housing as each townhouse will have a two-car garage.

There are also 14 parking stalls on site for guests. That does not include street parking fronting the project on Grant or Lincoln.
The 2.19 acre site will have a density of 19.55 dwelling units per acre making it consistent with general plan guidelines for high density development. That is roughly four times the number of homes in a typical single family subdivision built in Manteca during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
There are high density parcels to the north and medium density to the south.

To the east are single family homes and apartments while to the north are duplexes.
The townhouse development will be gated. While two private streets will go thru the project between Grant and Lincoln, the southern street’s gates will remain closed at all times.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com