Patterson Irrigator

The only sounds heard Thursday morning at the would-be site of La Paloma Condominiums in Patterson — aside from the occasional passing car — were the chirps of one bird and a few crickets.

Only two out of eight planned buildings at the corner of Highway 33 and Ivy Avenue are erect, and both are a little more than wooden frames. There is some semblance of a parking lot, with concrete curbs drawing a perimeter around loose gravel, and in the middle sits an empty construction trailer decorated with a bit of graffiti.

Construction temporarily halted while builder seeks new agreement with the lender. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

And so it’s been for the roughly three or four months since construction abruptly stopped. But despite the lack of activity, the project is far from dead, according to developer Jim Lucas.

“It’s not abandoned,” Lucas said Thursday at his home in Heartland Ranch. “We’re in the process of renegotiating with our lender. But it’s not abandoned. We’re working on it.” Lucas, part owner of Oakdale-based Phoenix Property and Development Holdings, was optimistic that the company’s financial problems would be worked out soon and that construction would resume in the next few weeks.

“We’ve been in discussions with (the bank),” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a decision soon.

“The bank on this, in recent discussions, seems to be supportive of the project. But we have to finalize everything.”

Ivy Avenue resident Michelle Green was never in favor of the La Paloma project — which is slated to feature 60 condominiums in eight buildings of four to eight homes each — because she feels there’s already enough housing in Patterson and because the new buildings block her view of Highway 33.

But she would likely eagerly welcome back the construction crew at this point. Since the project stalled, Green said the buildings have been populated almost every weekend by young people partying after dark.

That, along with her husband’s car being broken into recently, was enough to make Green more than a little uncomfortable.

“It may just be parties and hanging out and chilling now, but eventually it’s going to be something else,” she said. “Eventually, it’s going to lead to fights, and who’s to say someone’s not going to get shot?”

Patterson police Chief Tyrone Spencer said officers are keeping an eye on the location, but it’s not as high a priority as many abandoned homes throughout town that are more susceptible to such activities because of higher foot traffic.

Still, Lucas encouraged anyone who sees suspicious people in the unfinished buildings to alert authorities.

“Nobody should be in there but the workers,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lucas is facing something of a deadline to get work started again.

The city of Patterson issues building permits that are good for 180 days. Within those 180 days, a builder must request a city inspection to show some signs of progress — or risk losing the permit altogether. Once the inspection is complete, the 180-day window is renewed.

La Paloma’s current permit expires Oct. 16. That puts some pressure on Lucas to get things going, but Patterson senior building inspector David Branum said the city is usually somewhat lenient as long as it can see an effort is being made by the builder.

“We do work with them,” Branum said. “They’re still required to show progress of some kind, but we can work with them and help them find out what areas they can show progress in.”

If construction does not resume and the project is abandoned, though, the city would face a lengthy process before being able to do anything about it — starting with the decision that the failed project has become a detriment to the community in some way.

“You have to provide due process to the property owners,” Patterson chief building official Harry Hinton said. “You can’t just unilaterally go out there and do something. You have to give them the opportunity to be able to respond.”

If the construction is ultimately completed, Phoenix Development will have to decide whether selling the condominiums will generate enough revenue to pay for the project. If not, the only option might be renting them out.

“The biggest problem with everything right now is the economy,” Lucas said. “You can’t even build homes (in Patterson) for what they’re selling for right now.”

Still, Lucas isn’t the only one hoping the condos can be completed.

“I think Patterson could use that project,” Hinton said. “They aren’t as expensive (as houses) if someone wants to purchase and have a residence. It’s a good starter home for somebody who wants to be there for a while, create some equity, help with their credit and (eventually) move up.”

The Patterson Commons condominium development, which hopes to be La Paloma’s 40-home neighbor to the south, is still in the application stage.

According to Patterson permit technician Marie Peterson, Byron-based Better Building Development was granted an extension on its tentative map for the project on June 3.

No progress has been made since then, and a call to Better Building Development contact Scott Mulvey was not returned this week.

To contact James Leonard at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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