Innovative Atascadero community offers 25 new homes built around shared green space
The competitive and expensive housing market in San Luis Obispo County has a new, affordable housing option in Atascadero.
Cal Coastal Communities, an Atascadero-based real estate company, has unveiled Grand Oaks Paseo, a planned “cottage home community” with 25 small, single-family homes situated on a 1.7-acre parcel at 4711 El Camino Real in Atascadero. Four live/work units will be added in a future phase of development.
Originally, the lot where the Grand Oaks Paseo community is located was intended for a condominium complex. It was also big enough to fit roughly eight single family homes on lots of about 5,000 square feet each.
Jack Phelan, president and chief executive officer at Cal Coastal Communities, said neither option was a productive use of the site, aesthetically or financially. The Central Coast needed more affordable housing options, he said, which is why Cal Coastal Communities decided to build something different.
“This is not like a townhome or condo complex,” Phelan said. “These are simple, single-family homes. It’s just like a big house but oriented and built in a different way.”
How the Grand Oaks Paseo homes compare
The single-family homes range in size from a roughly 700 square feet, with one bedroom and bath with a loft to a three-bed, two-bath with garage space at about 900 square feet, according to the Cal Coastal Communities website. The prices range from the high $200,000s to high $400,000s depending on the floorplan, Phelan said.
The homes are built to be energy-efficient and sustainable with features like vaulted ceilings, quartz countertops, tankless water heaters, LED lighting and more, according to a news release from Cal Coastal Communities.
The homes are arranged around a shared green space peppered with mature oak trees, complete with a community gathering place that includes a pavilion with hammocks, long ranch tables, a fireplace hearth and a pizza oven, Phelan said.
“It’s very easy to go into your driveway, make your way into the garage and make your way in front of the TV set,” Phelan said. “(Grand Oaks Paseo) immediately creates community.”
Phelan said the Atascadero development was inspired by similar communities designed by architect Ross Chapin in Washington. Chapin’s pocket communities place homes and apartments around shared open spaces, allowing communities to capitalize on unused residential or mixed-use spaces to create smaller, walkable neighborhoods, according to the pocket neighborhood website.
“We thought, ‘This is what California needs,’” Phelan said.
He said that, to the best of his knowledge, this is the first community of its kind in the state.
“Grand Oaks also has its own unique community that, combined with the beautiful architecture and design, is a really good fit for Atascadero,” Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno said in a news release.
Community adds affordable housing to Atascadero
Phelan said cottage communities like Grand Oaks Paseo are one solution to the affordable housing crisis in California, and even more so in a place like SLO County where the typical family or individual is priced out of the housing market, Phelan said.
The median household income in the county is about $77,000 while the median housing price is more than $630,000, according to census data.
The homes at Grand Oak Paseo are priced so the average individual or family in San Luis Obispo County can afford to own a home, Phelan said.
“They’re affordable by design,” he said. “When we can bring a home for home ownership in the $200,000s, $300,000s — that’s the impact we want to make.”
Four of the homes at Grand Oaks Paseo will be deed-restricted, meaning they can only be sold to a family or individual who makes an annual income of $82,000 or less, Phelan said. One of the deed-restricted homes has already been sold, meaning three more remain, he said.
Cal Coastal Communities is releasing the homes in phases as construction finishes on the units. The four homes that were listed have already sold. The community members who purchased the homes include a young family, a young professional and a teacher, Phelan said.
The community will have two one-bedroom, one-bathroom homes; seven two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes, eight three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes and 10 three-bedroom, two-bathroom plus garage homes, Phelan said.
More homes at Grand Oak Paseo will become available soon, but community members can set up a time to tour the homes. For questions about sales, contact Katrina Lawton at (805) 242-2602 or katrina@calcoastalslo.com.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
