CASE STUDIES

MADERA COUNTY

Riverstone: E-Village Development

EXPERTISE APPLIED TO:

  • Village Concept Development
  • Wastewater Recycling Program
  • Acquisition Negotiations

The Client

Catalyst Consulting was approached by the owner of the Riverstone project to develop a land use and development plan in 2017.

The Riverstone Development is a planned 2,000-acre Specific Plan in Madera County along the San Joaquin River and is part of the Rio Mesa Area Plan New Growth Area.

The Project

Catalyst proposed to the property owner a plan to create an E-Village Development on the property. Essentially the E-Village concept was a work from home designed community where each home would have dedicated office space in the dwelling or a detached office in the rear yard.

The development of the Villages would be in a circular design with each village connected by alternative transportation and pedestrian paths. This allowed the topography of the property to be retained in its natural state and to have areas of continued agricultural operations separating the villages.

Along with the village design – Catalyst proposed a series of circular office tower in the village centers that could be utilized as office and meeting space.

The development would include solar power generation and a net zero water balance for a substainable development.

The Scenario

At the time, the California High Speed Rail had amended the Business Plan to proceed with the connection of downtown San Jose to downtown Fresno.

With a direct High Speed Rail train from the Silicon Valley to the Central San Joaquin Valley opened up the potential for a pressure release valve to the housing crisis in the Bay Area.

Project Details

Catalyst worked with Cloacina (wastewater treatment plant manufacturer) for a series of small MBR Wastewater Treatment Plants that would 100% treat and recycle the wastewater and use the California Title 22 treated water to irrigate the agricultural uses between the villages.

Catalyst contacted Google and Sidewalk Labs regarding the project and if they had any interested in acquiring the property and design.

Please consider that this was 2018 before the COVID issues in 2020 and the business model of working from home was not fully accepted.

For over a year Catalyst negotiated with both Google and Sidewalk Labs on the project, preparing number conceptual designs and development scenarios.

However, in 2019 the High-Speed Rail project was placed on hold due to budget and design/construction issues along with environmental concerns over the alignment via the Altamont Pass.

The Riverstone project was halted – but in January 2021 a development group approached Catalyst and the owner of the property to resurrect the E-Village concept.

Catalyst is currently working on the designs and re-engaging with Google for the Riverstone project, as well as, duplicating the concept for the Angels Crossing project in Western Stanislaus County on a 4,000-acre project along the Highway 130 corridor near the City of Patterson and Interstate 5.

With the changing “new normal” as a result of the COVID-19 business practices the work from home model “E-Village” will in Catalyst’s opinion be the continued development pattern for new residential developments.

With the ability to E-Work and not be restricted to a close proximity and geographic area to employment center – families are able to move and live-in areas of the State that are more affordable and offer amenities not provided in the urban areas.

Catalyst is proud to be an innovator and pioneer in this development paradigm shift in the Central Valley and Central Coast areas of California.