Mahonia Glen is a 100% affordable family housing project introducing 99 homes, shared amenities, and open space to an infill lot between Austin Creek and Highway 12 in Santa Rosa. Formerly a commercial nursery, the 4.75-acre site includes a riparian zone of oak and bay trees along Austin Creek and sits across the street from the St. Francis Shopping Center. The project is designed to respect natural site features and create a strong sense of community organized around a common open space.

The site design situates eight residential buildings among mature trees and a swale that drains to Austin Creek. The three-story buildings are each organized around generous, open-air stairs, with two-story townhomes positioned above flats to maximize accessibility. The buildings utilize a natural color palette, asymmetrical gable roofs optimized for solar arrays, and a blend of projecting porches, bay windows, and material variation that creates a comfortable scale and meets the City’s Objective Design Standards. A one-story clubhouse colocates administrative and service offices, laundry, mail, an activities room, and a kitchen-equipped community room that opens onto a patio, playground, and central green.

Community feedback early in design helped prioritize the preservation of open space at the heart of the community, and refine vehicular site access. The landscape incorporates passive and active recreation and gathering areas, preserves existing trees, and creates a central feature of the existing swale. New native plantings will repair natural habitat and support on-site stormwater management. Street improvements include a bus stop on Hwy 12, a traffic light at the Calistoga entrance, new sidewalk, and extended bike lanes.