River Islands Welcome Center opens in new location
As River Islands has grown to more than 1,400 households, the center of its homebuilding and community development activity has moved into a new area of the 5,000acre master plan. As a result, the Welcome Center has moved as well, to the corner of River Islands Parkway and Somerston Parkway.
The Welcome Center provides a valuable resource for visitors to River Islands, as it has tour guides and maps to help first-time visitors acquaint themselves with the community. Now that River Islands has 11 neighborhoods selling homes, a tour guide with all of the offerings, home sizes, price ranges and builder information helps new-home seekers streamline their searches. In addition, the Welcome Center staff has handouts for each of the communities, which provide more detail about each of the neighborhoods now open.
River Islands is now one of the bestselling master-planned communities in the country. Its popularity is based largely on the many different styles of homes being built by some of the area’s best builders. With single-story homes and two-story plans, bedroom counts that range from three to seven bedrooms, and overall square footages that start at under 2,000 square feet and extend to well over 4,000 square feet, it is no surprise that River Islands is as appealing to the first-time buyer as it is to the soon-to-retire homebuyer.
In addition, each neighborhood has its own character by way of architectural style and by virtue of its location. Some of the neighborhoods are close to the existing K-8 charter schools. Others offer lake views or docks. Some are built close to neighborhood parks; others offer proximity to a major community park, now in the design phase, or the trail system.
Another factor in its popularity is the number of amenities already built within the community. There are currently 11 lakes for kayaking and canoeing, acres of parks and playing fields, and a waterfront trail along the San Joaquin River.
Lathrop Manteca Fire Station No. 35 opened in the spring. The community has its own Boathouse restaurant, Islanders Field baseball stadium and a weekly farmers market. Two charter schools onsite, both K-Grade 8, are preparing for the fall term. The residents have bocce leagues, clubs and Movie Nights in the Park.
In the future, River Islands will have its own business campus and downtown retail area.
This season, two more neighborhoods are preparing for their upcoming grand openings. Newport by Kiper Homes will open in mid-August, with model homes ranging in size from 2,286 square feet to 3,948 square feet and up to six bedrooms. Designed specifically for their waterfront location by award-winning William Hezmalhalch Architects, the majority of the homes in this collection encircle a lake.
Van Daele Homes is planning a grand opening of their lakeside collection of homes, Bridgeport, in September. Bridgeport will range in size from four to seven bedrooms and 2,939 square feet to 4,462 square feet.
For more information, go to RiverIslands.com.