By Sara Beth Williams–
Construction has been active on a long-vacant house on the corner of Watson Way and Mariposa Avenue in Citrus Heights for several weeks, according to construction workers on site.
The 1,800-square-foot home was originally constructed in 1939, according to its online listing, and sat boarded up and vacant for years before it sold in June for $550,000. The home was originally listed for $595,000 in April of this year.
The listing described the home as a “charming fixer-upper” with multiple possibilities, including subdivision. The two-story home is still listed as having four bedrooms and one bath and includes a fireplace and bonus room, the listing showed. After a building permit was acquired, work began a month ago, construction workers on site said.
Currently the home has been taken down to studs inside. Stairs for a staircase inside appear complete, and the outside still needs siding. Work is ongoing, with an unknown date for completion.
The one-acre lot has a spacious unpaved driveway facing Watson Way, along with many trees, a detached garage, and a brick patio in the back of the home, according to photos from real estate site Zillow.
Citrus Heights Historical Society President Larry Fritz said the property was owned by William Berry, who owned a 160-acre ranch in the 1880s. The ranch was bordered by Watson Way in the north, Auburn Boulevard to the west, and Mariposa Avenue on the east. Mariposa Avenue did not exist at that time. A street named Citrus Avenue on a 1912 map has since become Mariposa Avenue, according to Fritz.
The old home on Watson Way sits on the northeast corner of what was the Berry Ranch, which was purchased by Walt Trainor, of the Trainor and Desmond Real Estate Company, in 1912. The real estate company subdivided the 160 acres into parcels of about 10 acres according to a 1912 map of the area. Trainor and Desmond are the ones who coined the name “Citrus Heights” for their developments, Fritz explained. In all, they purchased about 20 large ranches, calling them all “Citrus Heights” followed by a numerical designation. Parcel number 118 is the one that the home now sits on.
Another map from 1939 shows the same parcel was further subdivided, with a 2-acre lot belonging to James and Gertrude Millette. The property appears to have stayed in the Millette family. No sales history is listed online before June 2025.
Real estate appraiser and housing analyst Ryan Lundquist previously confirmed that the property was in a trust and had no sales history before 1998, when Metro List was first implemented.
