New housing could be coming to Crescent City

A vacant piece of land located at 1080 4th Street is currently in escrow and recently received approval from the Crescent City Planning Commission for the construction of up to 10 residential units.

“Realistically, it will be about six to eight units,” said William Groom, a semi-retired contractor who is purchasing the land for development.

Groom said the 27,599-square-foot lot allows for higher density, but he doesn’t want to “jam pack the lot or be a slumlord developer.”

Groom said escrow is expected to close soon.

According to Groom, once escrow closes, he will begin working with an architect to complete the architectural drawings, which would then be turned in to the city’s planning and building department - hopefully within six months.

“This lot is at a good location and is close to downtown,” said Groom. “From everything I’ve seen, there is a lack of housing in Crescent City, making this a good investment.”

If all goes well, this will be Groom’s second project in Crescent City. He currently lives with his wife in a home he built on A Street in 2008. For several years, that property was a vacation rental, but Groom and his wife settled roots here after he decided to sell his Red Bluff-based companies: F.C. Bickert Company, Inc., and Red Bluff Stucco, Inc.

According to the planning commission staff report, the project will consist of either two triplexes or fourplexes with two or 3 bedrooms, plus 2 baths totaling 5,000 square feet each. The multi-family residential units will consist of two-story structures with parking and a yard.

Materials used on the units will convey a beachy, shingle architectural style similar to that made popular on the east coast, and will include hues of blue and arctic white.

The project sits within a business-professional designated site - which means business, government or professional businesses are preferred - but multi-residential units are also allowed as a secondary use so long as their density does not exceed 15 units per acre. The planning commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit under that secondary use designation.

If all goes well with this project, Groom said he may continue to invest in other long-term rental developments in Crescent City, and that he is currently looking at two other pieces of property.

“But we’ll see where the market is at,” said Groom.