Home builder Watson Castanos plans to construct 477-units north of Riggin near Demaree -a project called Belissa. The well-known builder in the Fresno/Madera market was recently purchased by Trumark Homes.
An annexation of the 58-acre property where they will be building their first Visalia subdivision is slated to be approved at LAFCO in coming weeks.It will be a mix of single family and multifamily units.
When Trumark bought Watson Castanos they also inherited subdivisions on the Central Coast, including Avila Ranch in San Luis Obispo.Originally founded in 1983 and currently led by President and partial owner Josh Peterson since 2014, Wathen Castanos Homes is a leading private homebuilder in California’s Central Valley and Central Coast with a long-established legacy of homebuilding success
The arrival of the busy builder to the Visalia marketplace steps up competition here, already brisk with a number of the nation’s largest builders well established. Recently Fresno-based Bonadelle Homes launched their first subdivision also in the northwest area of Visalia.
Focused on building communities in thriving locations throughout California and Northern Colorado, Trumark Homes has been instrumental in the development of more than 4,000 homes.In 2020, Trumark Homes joined the Daiwa House Group. Daiwa House is Japan’s largest homebuilder and one of the world’s largest public companies. Last fall the acquisition of Wathen Castanos expanded Trumark Homes into new markets, building in San Luis Obispo, Monterey Bay, Clovis, Fresno and Madera. And now Visalia.
The location of the Belissa subdivision is the furthest north toward the St. Johns River in Visalia where homes are approved to be built.The Visalia home building market slowed in 2023, waiting for approval of a half dozen annexations, now completed, bringing in several thousand new parcels into the city limits. This latest annexation adds to the trend. That should mean an uptick in new home construction in town in 2024 if the economy holds.