Builder sees strong demand for lower-cost homes slated in Santa Rosa subdivision

The sign along Dutton Avenue boldly announces the adjacent model units as “Sonoma County’s Lowest Priced New Homes.”

The houses at the Paseo Vista subdivision in southwest Santa Rosa start at $329,000. During the first weekend, prospective buyers signed up to reserve all 29 properties offered in the first phase, with still more buyers placed on a waiting list.

The project’s 122 single units and 15 triplexes are needed in a year when too many residents are struggling to find places to buy or rent, according to both the developers and community leaders. An added bonus is the project is being constructed without government subsidies.

“This is exactly what we’ve been talking about, housing that’s affordable for a larger portion of our community,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who represents the Roseland neighborhood where Paseo Vista is located.

Many local families can’t afford to spend more than $350,000 for a home, said Mike Gasparini, who with business partner Allan Henderson developed the project.

“So we’re filling that niche with a real quality product,” Gasparini said.

A buyer with conventional financing would need an annual income of about $52,200 for the least costly unit. The monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, would be $2,158, said Otto Kobler, branch manager of Summit Funding in Santa Rosa.

Both Kobler and the developers said the monthly payments would be about what renters are now paying for similarly sized apartments and houses in the county.

Moreover, new state assistance can allow a family of four with annual income of up to $95,000 to receive a deferred loan for the needed down payment, Kobler said. Those families can qualify while putting down just $1,000 of their own money.

The prices of the units have been kept down via higher density development and by using a Santa Rosa company that builds key sections of the homes in a factory.

The local company, HybridCore Homes, can build its “core” sections in half the time and for 20 percent less cost compared to traditional, “stick-built” homes, said Shaun Faber, a company founder and creative director. Those sections come complete, with everything from kitchen appliances to window coverings and toilet paper holders.

For Paseo Vista, the core sections are built in a factory in Riverside, then hauled up Interstate 5 and set into place by cranes.

With three model homes finished and on display, the remaining units in the first phase will be completed by next summer, Gasparini said. Based upon demand, Henderson and he may try to advance construction of the second phase, perhaps using two crews to simultaneously work on the two phases.

The two-story homes are built close together but are still considered single-family units because of a 2-inch gap between the exterior walls.

The units are nearly 1,300 square feet each, with three bedrooms and either two-and-a-half or three bathrooms.

The base model includes vinyl flooring and Formica counters. But buyers can order such upgrades as laminate or composite flooring and granite, quartz or marble counters - all installed at the factory.

Some of the triplex units will be set aside to rent to low-income households, defined as earning up to $65,000 income a year for a family of four.

The developers spent about seven years cleaning up the project site, a former auto yard, Gasparini said.

The project sits under county jurisdiction but also required city approval in order to hook up to domestic water and sewer services. In December 2013, the City Council voted 4-3 to allow the project to be built without typically required planter strips for grass and trees between the sidewalks and streets.

The 12-acre site will include three project parks and 1 acre donated for part of a future public park.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit