The Paseo Vista Homes project in west Santa Rosa, seen in this architectural rendering, has taken 15 years to move to construction, but the 167 homes will be built quickly, thanks to a new hybrid of modular and conventional construction.
SANTA ROSA — After a decade and a half of delays procedural and economic, a 167-townhome development in west Santa Rosa is set to come out of the ground in coming months, in quite a different market than when initially conceived and with cutting-edge rooms-as-modules construction.
Groundbreaking for three model dwellings in the Paseo Vista Homes project, located off Hearn and Dutton avenues, is set for May 15. Santa Rosa-based HybridCore Homes expects to complete them by Aug. 1.
The remainder of the units would start to come out of the ground in early July. The entire project is expected to be completed in about two years.
The 12-acre project includes 122 single-family homes and 45 low-income rental units, built as 15 triplexes. Prices for the homes are anticipated to be in the low-$300,000 range.
Started by a homebuilder and an architect in 2009, HybridCore Homes has designed room units, called “cores,” outfitted with appliances, cabinetry, electrical wiring and plumbing that can be trucked from the factory to the job site. One or more cores are moved into place on the foundation, and the rest of the structure is completed around them.
“This new construction technology helps to keep costs low and cuts construction time in half,” said Otis Orsburn, partner and vice president of construction.
The company has a “ton” of projects on the horizon, he said.
In the last 60 days the company completed a home on Howard Street in Santa Rosa, two in Windsor and one in Calistoga. Three homes on Old Redwood Highway in Sonoma County are under construction, two of which are already sold.
The Calistoga home was sold within two hours of completion, according to the company. Another home is planned in the vicinity.
More homes are also planned for the Fountaingrove area of northeast Santa Rosa.
Developers Mike Gasparini and Allan Henderson started the Paseo Vista project in 2000 but only last fall received final government approval to proceed with the project.
First, there was a 7-year cleanup and infill of an old auto scrap yard, using private funds.
Then came the 2008 economic recession. In February 2012, the developers received full approval from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, but met with setbacks from the city and county. Some councilmembers objected to the elimination of the city design requirement for planter strips between the sidewalk and the road. Others expressed concern that too many units were being crammed into too little space.
The developers also were required to pay $1.5 million to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife for offsite California tiger salamander habitat remediation, as part of a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.
