A proposal to build multiple townhomes off Thornton Avenue was approved Thursday night.
The Fremont Argus reports that the city council’s vote to is Newark’s first housing building for more than a decade.
Proposed is the construction of three-story buildings, that all include three-bedroom homes, on 0.66 acres of land located on the 6200 block of Thornton Avenue. The lot – which lies nearly 600 feet west from Newark Boulevard – is currently vacant.
More from The Fremont Argus’ report:
Khurram Iqbal of Eden Homes LLC, the project's San Jose-developer, hopes the units -- with individual sizes ranging from 1,550 to 2150 square feet -- each will be sold for a price between $400,000 and $500,000.
Once the city issues a building permit, the project likely will break ground next spring and, barring unforeseen circumstances, construction would be completed by summer 2014, said Michael Ma, the development's Cupertino-based architect.
Newark primarily has been a single-family residence area since it incorporated in 1955, but new developments of high-density housing would be an exciting change, said Terrence Grindall, the city's community development director.
The complex approved Thursday might be just the beginning, as another project — the — calls for 500 new high-density homes to be built on the western edge of town.
Read the full Argus article here.
What do you think of city council’s vote to build new townhouses? Do you think it indicates a turnaround of the housing market? Share your thoughts in our comments section below.
-----
Like Newark Patch on Facebook | Follow Newark Patch on Twitter | Blog on Newark Patch | Get Free Newark Patch Newsletters
The Dumbarton TOD will not be transit oriented. So far the dream of 500 high-density houses is just that; a dream. No transit, no shopping and far removed from other services and shopping. This is the same area the city once promised a college, high-tech businesses and offices. You want exciting changes in Newark? Building high density housing doesn't do it. Instead, bring in businesses and services the residents already here need. Newark has no pet shops, no specialty grocery stores, just one drug store, no office supply store as examples. Off we go to Fremont or Union City for shopping.
Our city leaders really don't get it. The promotional video on the city website discusses Newark as being *affordable* - and then goes onto falsely state that the average price of a house in Newark is $600,000. The problem with this is that many houses here, in decent shape, sell for about half of that cost. Given that for that price one may purchase in the city of Fremont, a city with a good school system; anyone who sees the video will not consider Newark real estate. If Newark city government wishes to turn the city around, the first thing they need to do is to tell the truth to current and prospective residents and business owners. They need to drop the Soviet style central planning. The reality is that higher income people who are interested in such higher and middle income activities as the locavore movement can and will give Newark a chance if they see that housing is inexpensive enough that one may purchase a house AND send their children to a good private school for what it would cost to buy a house and send a child to public school in Fremont or San Jose. Keeping open space along the Bay is another first start on rehabilitating Newark.