Mountain House, A New City, Builds Up

20 June 2006 - 5:00am

Eventually, 44,000 residents will call Mountain House home. Currently, about 4,000 people live in the much-fretted-over planned development.

"It has been 12 years since the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved the massive development that was designed as a pedestrian-friendly slice of suburban paradise, with neighborhoods clustered around schools, small shopping centers and parks in the 'new urbanism' style."

"But set miles from the nearest town or commuter rail connection, it has been derided by critics as sprawl incarnate -- even as developers set aside space for 22,000 jobs and housing stock that includes high density, multifamily units as well as single-family, detached houses..."

"The trick is to keep the commercial and the residential components progressing apace, so that Mountain House doesn't end up like its detractors fear: less of a self-sufficient town and more of a sprawling subdivision with some new urbanism design flourishes."

Source: The Contra Costa Times, June 12, 2006
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The decision to abandon a property is a symptom of the loss of confidence. And while abandonment certainly affects confidence among surrounding homeowners, the most important question to answer is not "how do we deal with abandoned properties?" but "what is the most cost-effective way to restore market confidence, and how do abandoned properties fit into that picture?"