1,365-Acre Planned Community Under Way

MERCED, CA-Two miles west of the new University of California Merced campus, work is under way on the early stages of a 1,365-acre master planned community known as Bellevue Ranch. Over the course of the next eight years, the site will become a village-style community encompassing thousands of new homes and apartments surrounding retail and office space, schools and fire stations.

The master developer and lead builder for the project, Crosswinds Communities of Novi, MI will be developing 865 acres of the overall project, including some 3,200 single-family homes, 800 apartments and 50 acres of commercial space. Crosswinds VP Mark Singerman tells GlobeSt.com the community is designed with the highest density at that core and the lowest density at its edges. The overall project cost will be upward of $1 billion, says Singerman.

Acquired from a farmer for $120,000 per acre, the land is split east-west by Bellevue Road and north-south by G, M and R streets. Singerman says there will be commercial nodes focused around M Street, one where M meets Broadway near the middle of the community, and one at Overlake Road, the northern boundary of the development.