LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Moraga Town Center Homes project to start sales in spring


The new development along Moraga Way Photo Andy Scheck

KB Home has now leveled the ground and started the construction of Moraga Town Center Homes, a 36-unit townhouse and condominium development with some three-story-high buildings located on a site between Moraga Way and Country Club Drive at the entrance of the town, next to the fire station. This piece of the Moraga Center Specific Plan was approved in 2015 after years of controversies partially fueled by the fact that the town had not, and still has not, adopted final zoning changes for this very central and prominent portion of town.

Three years ago, a group of residents tried to put a referendum on the ballot to halt the development. They gathered enough signatures, but the Superior Court of Contra Costa County invalidated the referendum petition, siding with the developer and indicating that it was illegal. The project was then sold by City Ventures, the original developer, to KB Home, one of the largest homebuilders in the United States and a publically traded company (NYSE: KBH). It develops new communities in California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, and North Carolina. In California, besides those in the Bay Area, KB Home has projects in Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento and San Diego. The Riverton at Wallis Ranch project in Dublin looks similar to the City Ventures' Town Center Homes project that was approved for Moraga.

Scott Bowhay, who was one of the opponents of the project, says he is sad and angry to see the project get underway and that he regrets that Moraga residents could not do for this project what Lafayette's residents did with a referendum to stop the Deer Hill development.

KB Home Chris Apostolopoulos, regional president of KB Home's California operations, says that his company continues to aggressively pursue new land opportunities in prime Bay Area locations and that the acquisition in Moraga demonstrates its ongoing focus on actively growing the business in choice areas where homebuyers want to live but where the supply of new homes is limited.

KB Home representative Craig LeMessurier adds that the homebuilder is very excited about the new community in Moraga. "The planned two- and three-story floor homes will range in size between 1,804 and 2,347 square feet, with up to five bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and feature two-car garages," he says. "The new townhomes and duets (along Country Club Drive) are expected to evoke a modern aesthetic, distinguished by open layouts, spacious kitchens, and ample storage space."

KB Home is marketing the project as environmentally friendly. Solar electricity will be a standard feature and will be built to Energy Star 3.0 guidelines; the units will also include WaterSense labeled faucets and fixtures.

The plan that was approved in 2015 included a small local park along Country Club Drive. LeMessurier confirmed that KB Home is building the project according to the approved plan with no modification.

The grading of the site being terminated, the builder does not expect heavy truck traffic again on Moraga Way. The opening of the model homes is expected in spring 2019 with the first sales shortly after. For information, KB Home recommends contacting the firm by phone at (888) 524-6637.