Mahonia Glen

Net-Zero suburban infill for low-income families & farmworkers in wine country

Mahonia Glen introduces 99 apartments and townhomes to a former nursery on Highway 12 in Santa Rosa. The 4.75-acre site abuts a riparian zone of oak and bay trees along Austin Creek and sits across the street from the St. Francis Shopping Center. The campus-style development respects the site’s natural features and creates a community organized around common open space. Eight walkup residential buildings are carefully situated among mature trees and a site-crossing swale. The buildings include generous open-air stairs, with two-story townhomes located above flats to maximize accessibility. Asymmetrical gable roofs optimize solar arrays and enable the project to achieve net-zero energy performance. A natural color palette, material variation, projecting porches, and bay windows contribute to a comfortable scale and meet the City’s Objective Design Standards. At the heart of the campus, a clubhouse colocates administrative and service offices, laundry and 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 preservation of open space throughout the site. The landscape incorporates passive and active recreation areas, preserves existing trees, and creates a central feature of the swale. New native plantings will repair habitat and support stormwater management. Street improvements include a new bus stop on Highway 12, a traffic light at the Calistoga entrance, sidewalks, and extended bike lanes.