Comstock's magazine 0919 - September 2019 | Page 77

special supplement
Newlyweds Sanchita and Nimish Agashiwala
moved into their new house in Folsom Ranch
in November 2018, the first homebuyers in
the new development to do so.
I
n November 2018, first-time homebuyer
Nimish Agashiwala moved into Folsom
Ranch, a new planned residential com-
munity south of Highway 50 in Folsom.
Weary of renting, the 28-year-old Intel
engineer began searching for a home in
Folsom at the end of 2017 but couldn’t find
anything that matched his budget and wish
list. “I wanted a single-story home with a
big backyard that I could design to my lik-
ing,” he says. But the houses he saw were
beyond his $500,000 budget.
After several months of house hunting,
Agashiwala found what he was looking for
when homebuilder Taylor Morrison opened
its first tract in Folsom Ranch in early 2018:
a new single-story home he could custom-
ize and afford in a family-friendly commu-
nity with bike trails, community parks and
new schools. He chose his lot and selected
his upgrades (with input from his parents
and fiancée), then went to India for his wed-
ding. After returning, he and wife Sanchita
moved in on Nov. 15 — the first homebuyers
in the project to do so.
Young adults like Agashiwala who have
previously been priced out of the escalating
housing market are looking to communi-
ties outside of urban centers to realize their
goal of home ownership. And homebuilders
are happy to oblige, designing affordable
and energy-efficient suburban homes with
technology upgrades not found in older
abodes. The city of Folsom is particularly
appealing with its abundant open space,
biking and walking trails, upscale shopping
centers, and highly rated schools. And,
now, a new planned community.
ADDING ON
With Folsom’s growing population, the an-
nexation of more than 3,500 acres south of
Highway 50 was proposed in 1992. Years of
public hearings and input by residents and
the city council culminated in Measure W,
an annexation measure Folsom residents
passed with specific caveats: 30 percent
of the land must be designated as open
space; a dedicated and available water sup-
ply must meet planned capacity; schools,
parks and transportation improvements
must meet the new residents’ needs; and,
most importantly, no additional taxes could
be imposed on existing residents. The final
plan was adopted in 2011, and the landown-
ers spent the next several years working
out the infrastructure construction. The
first two homebuilders, Taylor Morrison
and Lennar, began construction in Folsom
Ranch in early 2018. By June 2019, 220
homes were sold in the new community. Of
these first sales, more than 87 percent are
buyers from Folsom and the surrounding
region, and nearly all were former renters.
At build-out in 25-30 years, approximately
11,500 homes are expected to be construct-
ed, and 25,000 people are expected to live
in the community. In all, the city has plans
for an estimated 1,770 single-family units
to be built over the next eight years, includ-
ing subdivisions in Folsom Ranch, Prospect
Ridge, The Harvest, Mangini Ranch, Russell
Ranch, Empire Ranch and Islands. Another
1,062 multifamily units are planned over the
next three years at Bidwell Pointe, Talavera
Ridge, The Hub, The Pique and Parkway.
“You see a lot of
mixed use, higher
density, condo
options, small
lots — options
you might see
in other more
metropolitan
areas, like the city
of Sacramento.”
Pam Johns, community
development director,
City of Folsom
A YOUNG DEMOGRAPHIC
Folsom has been called the Silicon Valley
of the foothills because of the number of
tech-heavy companies there, including In-
tel, which employs more than 6,000. Per
demographic data from the Greater Sacra-
mento Economic Council, the city’s median
age is 38, and median household income is
$116,904. Comparatively, the median age
and income for the greater six-county Sac-
ramento region is 37 and $71,644, respec-
September 2019 | comstocksmag.com
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