City's last large housing development under way City's last large housing development under way (April 09, 2004)

First models to open in June at Ironwood
by Jeb Bing

Model homes now under construction by Ponderosa Homes in its new Ironwood community at Busch Road and Valley Avenue will open to potential buyers in June in what is likely to be Pleasanton's last large residential development.

For years, the 89-acre site was known as the Pumpkin Patch where the Busch family raised pumpkins for sale to children and their parents at Halloween.

Today, the four model homes mark a new era for the property and what city officials consider to be the last of large homebuilding projects in Pleasanton. The city expects to reach total buildout by the end of the decade with 27,300 housing units, including apartments, and a population projected at just under 90,000.

Ponderosa's first homes, part of its Classic design category, will be priced from the mid-$700,000s. Of the four models, one is a single story "zero-energy" house that will be a first for Pleasanton. Filled with options available to buyers of any of Ponderosa's planned 191 homes on the site, the features could cut total annual energy requirements significantly.

"I've been in this business almost 30 years and I've never been so excited about all of the environmentally friendly building innovations that we're using in this project," said Mike Dossa, project superintendent.

In compliance with Pleasanton's new Green Building ordinance, Ponderosa is using remanufactured lumber and insulation materials on all of the new homes. In addition, options used in the zero-energy house include a solar roof with foil-backed materials to provide solar electric, hot water and heating. Kitchen and bathroom faucets will have hot water on demand features, with only a 5-7 gallon capacity water heater to meet supplemental demands. Once completed, Ponderosa will open a "green gallery" in the home's garage to show the public how the energy saving devices work.

Eleven years in planning, the Ponderosa project is being built on an 89-acre site bordered by Valley and Mohr avenues, the Maple Leaf neighborhood and the Pleasanton Operations Center on Busch Road. The new community will include 168 single-family homes, with the Classic models ranging from 2,100 to 3,000 square feet on 5,500-square-foot homesites to larger 3,000-to-4,000-square-foot Estate homes in a second neighborhood to be built later this year on 9,000-square-foot lots. Prices for the Estate models are expected to start in the low $900,000s, according to Ponderosa's Land Planning Manager Pam Hardy. Another seven custom homes on lots starting at 12,000 square feet are planned for lots fronting on Mohr Avenue.

Construction also is expected to start shortly on the first of five two-and-three story apartments that will be available to seniors 55 and older. As many as 138 of those will go to those qualifying for low-to-very-low income rents, with units to be ready for occupancy by the end of the year.

As part of its development, Ponderosa also plans to sell a 6-acre site at the corner of Valley and Busch to the Pleasanton Presbyterian Church for a new sanctuary and other buildings. The church, with a congregation that now exceeds 550, has outgrown its complex on Mirador Avenue.

The Pleasanton school district also has signed an option to purchase 23 acres at the northeast corner of the Ponderosa site for future use as a school or district facility. The option is good for five years, at which time the property will revert to Ponderosa for possible additional home development.

Ponderosa Homes also is building an extension of the Iron Horse Trail through its property to provide a route from Santa Rita to Busch Road for hikers, joggers and bicyclists. Vehicle access to the new Ironwood community will be allowed only from Busch, Kamp Drive and Martin Avenue, although no street will extend through the development, blocking any cut-through traffic. A membership swimming pool and public park will separate the Classic and Estate home subdivisions in Ironwood.

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