Dixon acquires school district property for future residential development

DIXON – The city is buying the Washington Park property from the school district to make way for a new residential development.

The City Council entered into an agreement to purchase the 4.4-acre property, which once was used for physical education classes for nearby Washington School, for $1. The city is working with a local developer who plans to build 16 single-family homes that would be around 1,200 to 1,400 square feet.

The local housing market is “tapped out,” and the project would serve a variety of demographics, from families just starting out to others looking to downsize, City Manager Danny Langloss said.

“The market is pretty thin whether you’re looking to rent or buy, and we need places for people to live,” he said.

Expanding residential opportunities is crucial for the city, especially as Dixon and other cities in the region are expanding business and industrial development, Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said.

“Residential development blends into both commercial and industrial development as well as making homes available for those who want them,” Arellano said.

The school district put out the call a year ago for bids on the property, starting at $100,000, but didn’t receive any interest. The district hasn’t used the site for several years, but organizations such as the River Bandits baseball club and the Al Morrison baseball league would use one of two baseball diamonds for games.

The school district would benefit from new property tax revenue from the project, which could be around $44,000 a year for the district alone, Langloss said.

The city is working out details with the developer on the land and needed infrastructure, but it will likely be part of a bigger residential development deal in the future.

Plans have been coming together for opening up commercial, industrial and residential development in the Interstate 88 Corridor, and the city is working on creating a tax increment financing district that would annex more than 400 acres into the city.

“We want to create more jobs, but we also want to position ourselves to be the place to live,” Langloss said.