CHOWCHILLA - Chowchilla is enjoying strong housing growth, expanding at a rate of 8.57% per year. According to the Business Journal, it has become the 2nd fastest growing municipality behind Clovis, up from 11th last year. This expansion in new home construction can be seen throughout the City. To the east, the neighborhoods of Greenhills and Pheasant Run are anticipated to be completely built-out within the year.
To the west, new houses are going up, with more developments nearing complete entitlement. Even the older parts of the City are growing as empty lots see new homes constructed, owing in large part to the City’s Infill Program. This infill growth has also had the collateral effect of existing homes being fixed up or rebuilt as values go up.
Niki Upton of London Properties and a Board Member of the Chowchilla Chamber of Commerce noted that, “houses that are appropriately priced are selling within a week of being listed. We haven’t seen this level of excitement in over a decade. In Greenhills, some houses are even selling for above the listing price.” She attributes this growth to Chowchilla’s safe, neighborly quality of life while being within close proximity to the Bay Area and adjacent cities.
Dennis Haworth, Mayor of Chowchilla, knows this growth was a strategic effort of the Council’s. “We planned for this activity. Through the careful use of economic incentive programs designed to bring builders back to Chowchilla, we have been able to attract and guide development in a way that benefits the entire City. This is not growth on one side of Chowchilla only, but rather on all sides – with the downtown remaining in middle. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
City Administrator Brian Haddix sees multiple benefits of this growth. He noted that, “two new medical facilities are being built near the downtown, with a new restaurant coming in across the street and plans for more. This activity is a result of a growing population, which Chowchilla has.”
Additional growth on the west side of Chowchilla is nearing entitlement with one property planning 200 houses and an adjacent property with 150 houses. On the east side of Chowchilla, the Rancho Calera development, across the street from Greenhills, is approaching entitlement of Phase 1 with 78 new homes.
