Loading ...In case you haven’t noticed, Dublin has embarked on an aggressive campaign of growth the past few years, including several retail and mixed use projects, as well as scores of high density condominium projects.
Now Charter Properties is approaching the city of Dublin looking to build 4 high rise towers, ranging from 19 to 21 stories each.
The project would have the tallest buildings in suburban East Bay and would dwarf everything for miles around. Other than Oakland’s 28-story Ordway Building and the 30-story Pacific Park Plaza in Emeryville, there are no taller East Bay buildings.
The towers, which would include a 100-room boutique hotel, a luxury gym and spa, 20 luxury single-story condominiums and 30 live-work units, would easily dwarf the next tallest building in town — Sybase’s six-story headquarters in east Dublin.
The towers would go up on Grafton Street next to a Lowe’s Home Improvement store that is under construction.
In Pleasanton, which faces Dublin on the opposite side of I-580, the tallest building is six stories high.
“We don’t build buildings that tall in Pleasanton,” Mayor Jennifer Hosterman said when she was told of the plans being considered. But, she said, “I can’t speak for Dublin.”
“I imagine the people of Dublin may embrace that type of project,” she said, noting that the city has embraced many other large-scale projects.
Yes, this is a bold proposition, and there would certainly be an impact on traffic in the surrounding area, as well as other considerations such as shadows and potentially altering the views for neighboring buildings. But this might be what the future looks like for the Tri-Valley region, as traffic and congestion make longer commutes to the central valley more and more difficult. Clearly, urban planners in the Bay Area are embracing higher density development close to transportation hubs as a way to reduce traffic and provide more housing.
The four towers will house 675 units. Empty nesters and those looking for a smaller home with a more urban feel without having to move to San Francisco or Oakland might enjoy the development, Inderbitzen said.
Many cities in the East Bay have height restrictions. Concord permits buildings as high as 200 feet in its downtown area, but cities such as Lafayette, Livermore and San Ramon have restrictions that do not allow buildings to be more than 45 feet tall, although developers can apply for a variance.
Walnut Creek residents voted to cap new buildings at a maximum of 89 feet, or six stories. Richmond has a height restriction of 75 feet in some corridors and 35 feet for residential projects.
Buildings of these sizes are generally located in urban areas where space is tight, but Linda Dalton, an expert on city planning issues at Cal State East Bay, said building up instead of out is becoming a trend.
“Land gets expensive and people want to reduce their commuting. That ends up meaning more density,” Dalton said.
Dalton, who has not seen the project plans, said that, ultimately, the City Council has to decide whether the project fits into city plans.
Building towers may seem strange now, but Dalton said the thought of building multiple-story condominiums and apartments in suburbs 30 years ago would have had people scratching their heads.
Dublin planning commissioners and City Council members have said they have no problem entertaining the high-rise notion, but they do have questions about how the project would affect the city — how large would shadows cast by the towers be, how it would affect the city’s job-housing balance and how it would work with other retail, office and residential buildings being constructed nearby.
Inderbitzen said some studies on how the project would affect the city — and sunlight — are being conducted, although more would be scheduled if the city is interested in the project
“The fact that it is different doesn’t bother me at all,” said Mayor Janet Lockhart. “It’s just about making sure it fits in our community.”
Courtesy of the Contra Costa Times
Technorati Tags: Dublin ca real estate, Dublin CA, Dublin California real estate, Dublin ca development
Popularity: 5% [?]
RSS
High Rise Towers in Dublin??