A new Napa neighborhood rises: RiverSound housing, parks take shape in south Napa
Construction on new homes in the RiverSound area continues on Tuesday, July 8. Nick Otto/Register
RiverSound is taking shape.
The 154-acre RiverSound development is located at the former Napa Pipe industrial site along the Napa River on Kaiser Road. It’s owned by Napa Redevelopment Partners. Catellus Development Corporation, based in Oakland, is the development manager for the project.
According to the Brookfield RiverSound residential website, 35 homes at RiverSound have been sold, 17 homes remain available for “quick move-in” and 10 model homes are open. Another 142 homes are listed as part of a “future release” bringing the grand total of this section of homes to an estimated 204.
That’s only one part of one section of housing planned for RiverSound. In total, the south Napa community is slated to have 945 homes, a hotel, light industrial uses, parks, trails, a Napa Valley Vine Trail connection, wetlands and water uses. In addition to Kaiser Road, other main streets inside the development are named RiverSound Way, Clear Stream Avenue and Horseshoe Bend Drive.
A representative from Brookfield could not be immediately reached to comment on this story but the RiverSound website lists information about the homes for sale. Single-family homes in the Patina neighborhood currently range from $876,748 to $1,099,140. Townhomes in the Copperfield neighborhood range from $778,785 to $805,414. Foundry single-family homes range from $795,309 to $917,096.
Not every home at RiverSound will sell for market rate prices, according to sources.
In an earlier interview, Sean Whiskeman with Catellus said out of 945 planned homes in the project, 140 units will be deed-restricted to low- or very-low-income affordability levels. Fifty units are required to be deed-restricted to moderate-income affordability levels. Specific details have not been made public.
While about 35 homes have been sold at RiverSound — on streets with names such as Coral Bell Drive, Goldenstar Way and Sagebrush Drive — it’s difficult to tell how many homes are actually occupied and which have full-time residents.
During two recent visits, a few cars were parked in front of several of the finished homes, but all of the garage doors in the “alleyways” were closed. On garbage pick-up day, fewer than half a dozen Napa Recycling and Waste Services containers were set out.
At least two of those containers belonged to Patricia Noland and her husband, who moved into their home at RiverSound on Dec. 21. They are among the very first to “settle” in the brand-new neighborhood.
Noland said she’s lived in Napa County since the 1970s. The couple moved to RiverSound after they sold their home at Circle Oaks.
“It was time for us to make a change,” she said in an interview last week. They wanted to be closer to town and have less property to take care of, said Noland.
“We really like it,” said Noland about RiverSound. “We love the walking paths and the weather,” — it’s cooler in the summer than at Circle Oaks. She also likes being more centrally located to doctors and errands outside Napa County in Fairfield, Vacaville, Walnut Creek and Petaluma.
Yes, the homes at RiverSound are close together, and “we were concerned about not having space around us,” but they like being part of the beginning of a developing community, said Noland.
The couple got to choose which street their home is located on and for aging in place, they specifically chose a model with a bedroom and bath on one floor.
Compared to their property in Circle Oaks, maintenance is minimal. A Homeowners Association (HOA) is responsible for the landscaping in the mini front yards of the homes at RiverSound, Noland explained. At the same time, things like a new Ring doorbell and a keyless entry must be HOA-approved, she said. There are other specifications about outdoor décor and parking.
Noland said they wanted to buy early at RiverSound before prices go up. And it doesn’t bother her that construction will go on around them for several more years.
“We knew that coming into it,” she said. Overall, “I feel like we made a good choice for us.”
The path to progress
A large new wayfinder map has been installed along Clear Stream Way inside RiverSound, near the intersection of Kaiser Road. It indicates names and locations for a number of features of the community including three parks: Reflection Park, Steel Path Park and Bird Song Park.
The map also shows the locations for the future boutique hotel, more parks, more commercial space, more residential and outdoor areas such as the dry docks.
Those parks include name posts, benches, recycling containers, pet waste bags and containers, bike racks, landscaping and irrigation.
Last week, Napans Adam Hartung and Marylou McNally walked their two dogs at Steel Path Park. It’s a completed section of the Vine Trail that goes through RiverSound that includes fresh paving, well-kept green grass and neatly trimmed trees and shrubbery.
Hartung, who has lived in Napa since 2021, said he thought the new development was a great idea for the community.
“I think that this is really going to be a great improvement,” he said.
Everyone knows Napa needs more housing, he continued. Especially housing that workers, like the ones building the homes at RiverSound, can afford. “That would make it possible for more people to consider living here, instead of having to drive in from Fairfield or Pittsburg to get to work every day.”
When told that the houses currently being built start at $778,785, Hartung had a different idea. He thought some of the homes should be priced starting in the $300,000 range.
“It’d be nice if there were at least 100 to 200 units that were in that price range; certainly below half a million dollars. That would help quite a bit to improve the diversity of the community.”
Hartung wasn’t so sure about the giant steel gantry structure remaining permanently at RiverSound. If it is left as is, he said he’s not sure it complements the intended RiverSound aesthetic.
At the very least, “It needs to be sandblasted, cleaned up and then painted,” he said.
McNally said she thought the redevelopment was a good reuse of the former Napa Pipe land.
“I admire what they’re doing,” she said. “I think there’s an opportunity here.”
She also appreciates being able to use the current section of the Steel Path Park/Vine Trail and the rest of the planned open space.
“I’d like to see this park monitored a little more than it is currently and hopefully once they get everything up and running,” it will be, she said.
People are good about picking up dog poop but the new bags aren’t always replaced in the dispensers, explained Hartung. And not every dog owner follows the leash law.
“I hope they connect those paths that are over on the other side of Costco, sure, but I think what they’re doing is really smart for the community,” McNally said.
“We do need housing here, but moreover, we need this kind of space,” she said. “This is creating something that really is special; those are going to be phenomenal spaces when they’re done.”
Shawn Casey-White, executive director of the Napa Valley Vine Trail, certainly supports the section of the Vine Trail that RiverSound developers have completed.
“My impression is that the developers are making a conscious effort to make this development walkable and bike-friendly, so that residents and visitors can access all of the future services that are going to be west of the railroad and soon to connect to Kennedy Park,” she said in a phone interview on July 9.
A plan for public art for RiverSound has also been created. However, a representative from Catellus could not be immediately reached to comment on the progress of the art, if any artists have been selected to create the art, how the steel gantry cranes would be finished or painted or any other details about how the RiverSound development is progressing.