Comstock's magazine 1117 - November 2017 | Page 90

FOLSOM & EL DORADO HILLS
Renderings for Folsom Ranch’s community
town plaza and urban park. The project’s
first phase also includes 833 single family
homes and an elementary school.
comstocksmag.com | November 201 7
started construction on the first phase
of infrastructure for the master-planned
community Folsom Ranch in April. Despite
some literal bumps, progress is ongoing.
“Some portions of the site are a bit
more rocky than the contractor would
prefer, but that is the nature of almost ev-
ery site in the foothill region,” WestLand
Capital Partners President Bill Bunce says.
“Nonetheless, construction has proceeded
ahead of schedule.”
Folsom Ranch’s first phase includes
833 single-family homes, as well as area
for an elementary school and a park. Cur-
rently, the plan is for initial homes to be un-
der construction in spring 2018 and put up
for sale shortly after.
“The plan area has been so carefully
planned over such a long period of time to
ensure that it enhances what already makes
Folsom so terrific,” Bunce says. “With-
out question, the 1,000 acres of heavily-
wooded and permanently preserved open
space is what distinguishes this site. Hik-
ing and biking trails will be available to all
Folsom residents. It seems remarkable
that such a pristine and beautiful setting
can exist so close to a major freeway and
people who enjoy being outdoors will be
truly thrilled with the natural beauty and
accessibility of this open space.”
WestLand isn’t the only company
building in Folsom, however. BlackPine
Communities’ Farmhouse at Willow Creek
will also be soon calling the area home.
“We felt like Folsom was a great place
for the evolution of BlackPine,” says Black-
Pine Communities Division President John
Kuntz. “Knowing Folsom is an all-Ameri-
can city with a great demand for housing,
we felt the BlackPine brand would bring a
unique product to the market that would
continue to support our unique style of
homes and add value to an already great
community.” The firm is also building The
Creamery at Alkali Flat and The Brown-
stones in Curtis Park, among a handful of
other local projects.
Work on model homes for The Farmhouse
has started, and a grand opening will fol-
low either late this year or early next. The
Farmhouse will have 126 homes with over
50 different exterior color variations available.
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The 2016 El Dorado Hills Fire Department
Annual Report noted a roughly 29 percent
increase in new home development.
Either way, be it Folsom or El Dorado
Hills, people moving into each area need
places to call home. And current residen-
tial construction in both locations are in
the process of fulfilling that need.
“I know a lot of folks are afraid that the
market will soften as the new homes are
built in the south of [Highway] 50 area of
Folsom, but it’s going to take many years
to build, and in the meantime, our popula-
tion keeps growing, and those people need
somewhere to live,” Heard says.
After three land purchases in the past
several years, WestLand Capital Partners