Two decades ago there was nary a home along Woodward Avenue between what is today Atherton Drive and South Main Street as it was almost non-stop almond orchards.
It was about that long ago that the last homes were built along North Main Street when the gated community known as Cobblestone was developed backing up to the four-lane arterial.
In the coming months homes will have replaced all but one parcel as well as where Woodward Park is along that segment of Woodward Avenue. At the same time what will likely be the last residential development along North Main Street on raw ground will be well underway.
The City Council Tuesday blessed requests from two different developers to start grading and installing improvements before the final map for the projects have been approved.
The move will bring the first of what will be 222 more single family homes to market this year.
Vintage II will feature 68 homes on 16 acres south of Woodward Avenue and 393 feet east of Pillsbury Road.
North Main Commons will feature 154 homes on 30.17 acres on North Main Street across from Casino Real with the access being via an eastern extension of Northgate Drive where it intersects with Main Street at the traffic signal.
North Main Commons is Manteca’s first new subdivision modified so future traffic does not impact the quality of life of an existing neighborhood.
The original plan called for extending Northgate Drive to connect with Aksland Drive to provide a secondary access from Louise Avenue.
Existing Springtime Estates residents concerned about the road connection increasing traffic were irked when a traffic consultant contended connecting the two streets would not increase traffic.
The City Council sided with existing residents and directed the street connection to be replaced with an emergency vehicle access. Essentially the two streets will “dead end” into an area that may be designed somewhat like a plaza blocked off with bollards that emergency personnel can unlock if needed. It would still allow pedestrians and bicyclists to pass through.
The extension of Northgate is the only access to serve the 154 homes. All of the homes will be to the south of the extension tying into the Northgate Drive and North Main Street intersection. There are no other access points to North Main Street that is the heaviest traveled north-south corridor in Manteca.
To contact Dennis Wyatt@mantecabulletin.com
