When will I be able to buy a home at Loma Rica? When will I be able to move in?
Ground breaking for the Organic Farm was in Fall of 2004, and achieved CCOF certification (California Certified Organic Farmers) in the Spring of 2007. While we are going through the approval and annexation process with the city, the site will be relatively peaceful. We are planning on beginning home and neighborhood center (including retail) construction late in 2009. Floor plans will be available for review before that time, and some homes will be available for pre-purchase. We will encourage home buyers to use the homes at Loma Rica for their primary residence, to foster vibrant and long-lasting neighborhoods. Apartments will also be available to rent..
Why is Traditional Neighborhood Design better than normal, suburban sprawl developments?
As written in Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, the Traditional Neighborhood -- represented by mixed-use, pedestrian communities of varied population, either standing free as villages or grouped into towns and cities -- has proved to be a sustainable form of growth. It has allowed us to settle the continent without bankrupting the country or destroying the countryside in the process.
Suburban sprawl, now the standard North American pattern of growth, ignores precedent and human experience. It is an invention, conceived by architects, engineers and planners, and promoted by developers in the sweeping aside of the old that occurred after the Second World War. Unlike the traditional neighborhood model, which evolved organically as a response to human needs, suburban sprawl is an idealized artificial system. It is not without a certain beauty: it is rational, consistent, and comprehensive. Its performance is largely predictable. It is an outgrowth of modern problem solving: a system for living. Unfortunately, this system is already showing itself to be unsustainable. Unlike the traditional neighborhood, sprawl is not healthy growth; it is essentially self-destructive. Even at relatively low population densities, sprawl tends not to pay for itself financially and consumes land at an alarming rate, while producing insurmountable traffic problems and exacerbating social inequity and isolation... As the ring of suburbia grows around most of our cities, so grows the void at the center. Even while the struggle to revitalize deteriorated downtown neighborhoods and business districts continues, the inner ring of suburbs is already at risk, losing residents and businesses to fresher locations on a new suburban edge.
What will Loma Rica give back to the community?
Loma Rica’s underlying principles involve public access, community-building, a range of housing choices, high-quality design, convenience and green building principles. The property, 450 acres of hills, meadows and creeks, historically closed to the public -- will become fully accessible. Over 200 acres will be public open space and include ballfields, parks of all sizes and maintained trails and paths of all types that will connect with the existing trail system around the property. There will be many other public amenities including, meeting places, local and regional shops and restaurants, the organic farm, health club, lake and lodge, to name only a few.
Will I be able to afford a home at Loma Rica?
Over the past decade, there has been a substantial increase in the population and economy of Grass Valley and Nevada County. Much of the economic growth has occurred in the lower-paying service and retail industries and much of the population growth has occurred in middle-aged and older population with 45-64 year olds being the fastest-growing age group. More than half of Grass Valley’s residents are renters. These trends are likely to increase over the next decade as well.
To respond to our growing lower-income, service industry citizens and our aging neighbors, we need to provide more “affordable housing”. So what is affordable housing and who lives there? According to the Grass Valley 2003-2009 Housing Element (which is part the City’s General Plan), families who earn 80% or less of the Nevada County median family income, which was $59,000 in 2003, fall into the affordable housing category. Professions in this range are usually entry level fire fighters, dental assistants, school teachers, social service workers, restaurant workers, carpenters, delivery drivers or retail sales staff to name a few. These are important jobs that are the foundation of our daily lives. Loma Rica will provide neighborhoods with homes and apartments of varying prices. People of differing incomes and various home sizes will live side by side. Unfortunately, many developers do not build affordable housing because there are disincentives to create this type of housing, but Loma Rica is planning on providing a large amount of this housing.
Loma Rica will be a truly mixed-use, mix-income community that will provide affordable housing to Grass Valley residents. These units will be a mix of multi-family apartments, flats above retail, rowhouses, duplexes and bungalows. These homes will be aesthetically pleasing, impeccably built and are designed to resemble the historic homes of the Sierra Nevada.
Is Loma Rica a gated community?
No, the design promotes maximum public access and interaction. Loma Rica’s many amenities, including parks, trails, restaurants, playfields and lake, will be open to everyone. This is one of the fundamentals of this project.
What is New Urbanism? What is “urban” about Loma Rica?
An urban design and planning movement. New Urbanists combine traditional planning and modern technology to create places that break the conventional suburban mold of malls and highways. Instead, they strive for environmental balance, social integration and a true sense of community. Loma Rica is based on these principles.
What are you doing to preserve the natural beauty and history of the ranch?
By building on compact footprints, using Traditional Neighborhood Design, Loma Rica Ranch is able to leave many open space acres. The neighborhoods at Loma Rica are much more compact than in suburban sprawl developments. This enables over 200 of the 450 acres here to be left as parks and open space. This will honor the historically open lands of the property as will the adaptive re-use of the historical buildings. There is also archeological evidence that Native Americans once lived on the property; these sites will be preserved and marked for public enjoyment and study. If anyone is interested in learning more about the property and its long and fascinating history, a small historical center will also be part of the project.
What is there to do at Loma Rica?
You name it. There will be organic dining, outdoor sports for kids and adults, trails for cycling, running and exploring. We will have shops and corner stores with high-quality goods for daily living and fine foods for special occasions. The Olympic Village Neighborhood will be the retail center of the project and be home to an extensive and beautiful fitness center geared toward both family activities (with daycare) and real fitness buffs. The Ranch Center will host a farmers’ marketplace and small artisan galleries and have hands-on opportunities for children to learn about the farm. Civic buildings will be located throughout the project for public use.
Can I visit Loma Rica?
Yes, if you call our offices we would be happy to set up an appointment with you so you can see the property or discuss the Specific Plan. We are also happy to speak with you over the phone. If you just want general information about Loma Rica, you can visit our Newsletter archive or send us your contact information and we will enter you onto our mailing list. Email: info@carvilesierra.com
Why does Loma Rica have so many units?
According to the Grass Valley Housing Element the population of the Grass Valley planning area is expected to grow 46% between 2000 and 2020 to 23,395. And in recent years, overcrowding has become more of an issue for residents, because they are unable to afford housing of a suitable size. Furthermore due to this expected growth the Grass Valley Housing Element has mandated an additional 1,448 units between 2001 and 2009. There are some available lands for construction with in the city limits, but there is no sizeable area where a cohesive design strategy can be implemented, and many of these parcels are not suitable for use.
Loma Rica’s extensive lands are a golden opportunity to implement a project that beautifully compliments the historical and efficient land-use patterns of Grass Valley and make it possible for many more people to enjoy the benefits of homeownership. Understanding these commitments, on behalf of Loma Rica, is key to understanding the number of units that are planned. Without this level of planned density, fewer locals will be able to afford to live here; the only ones able to afford a home in Grass Valley will be the rich, which by and large would be from out of town.
What is the buildout period for Loma Rica?
Loma Rica is a project motivated by necessity. Due to soaring housing prices, the average home reaching $500K statewide, first-time home buyers are finding themselves locked out of our community; homes at Loma Rica will be brought onto the market at uninflated prices so that home-ownership can be a reality for this group of buyers -- many of whom grew up here and are at risk of being pushed out by more affluent people coming in from the bay area. This said, Grass Valley is not ready for 700 units in one year. Due to the large-scale of this project in the context of this community, Loma Rica will be built in 7 phases over 15 years. This is a flexible build-out period so homes are built as they are needed. Furthermore, this extended timeline will allow the streets to transform and traffic mitigations to be implemented to meet the healthy requirements of the traffic engendered by the project.
Will there be public transportation at Loma Rica?
Loma Rica Ranch is ideally situated on existing transit routes and more stops will be added. Furthermore, because the Neighborhoods are designed to more compact and walkable standards, residents will have many opportunities to walk or bike on the pedestrian-friendly streets to meaningful destinations within Loma Rica and nearby Grass Valley.
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