Title
Del Monte Development Agreement Annual Review - Applicants: TL Partners I, LP and Alta Buena Vista Owner, LLC. The applicants are requesting a periodic review of the Del Monte Warehouse Project Development Agreement. The consideration of an Annual Report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Body
To: Honorable President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Steve Buckley, Secretary to the Board
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 30-95.1 requires the Planning Board to conduct a public hearing at which the applicant must demonstrate good faith compliance with the terms and conditions of the Del Monte Development Agreement. TL Partners I, LP (TLP) and Alta Buena Vista Owner, LLC (ABV) (together, the Developers) have submitted a letter demonstrating their good faith compliance with the terms and conditions of the DA. (Exhibit 1)
Staff is recommending that the Planning Board approve the annual report and find that the Developers have complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the DA. The Development Agreement can be found on the City of Alameda website at:
<https://www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Planning-Division/Major-Planning-Projects>
BACKGROUND
On January 15, 2015, the City of Alameda (City) and TLP entered into a Development Agreement (Original DA) for the Del Monte Warehouse Project. The Original DA has been amended by a First Amendment to Development Agreement dated June 8, 2017 (First Amendment), a Second Amendment to Development Agreement dated July 18, 2018 (Second Amendment), two ministerial amendments dated October 25, 2018 (Ministerial Amendment) and September 25, 2019 (Second Ministerial Amendment), and a Third Amendment to Development Agreement dated January 4, 2021 (Third Amendment, and together with the Original DA, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Ministerial Amendment, and the Second Ministerial Amendment, the Development Agreement or DA).
On October 9, 2019, the City granted its written consent to a Partial Assignment of certain rights and obligations under the Development Agreement from TLP to ABV. ABV is currently under construction on the Del Monte Building and Clement Avenue extension. TLP owns rights to the small pad at the northwestern end of the site and intends to build up to 10 townhouses on the site.
DISCUSSION
Since executing the Original DA in 2015, the Developers and the City have accomplished a number of public benefits required by the Development Agreement. Notable updated between January 1, 2023 to the present include:
Restoration and Adaptive Reuse of the Del Monte Warehouse Building. The DA established the obligation of the Developers to restore and adaptively reuse the Del Monte Building, a designated City Monument, for residential and commercial use. After much delay, TLP sold the rights to ABV in 2019, and in 2020, ABV acquired the necessary building permits and began restoration and rehabilitation of the building. First move-ins occurred in 2023.
Affordable Housing: In compliance with the DA, the Developers submitted for review and approval by the City Council an Affordable Housing Agreement for the provision of fifty-five (55) affordable housing units. In 2015, the City Council approved the Affordable Housing Agreement and the agreement to convey the City-owned portion of the property, which would contain the 31-unit senior affordable housing building, to the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda. In 2018, the Housing Authority in collaboration with TLP completed construction of 31 units for very low- and low-income senior households at “Littlejohn Commons.” The 24 remaining affordable housing units will be provided within the Del Monte Building, and the lottery for the Moderate Rate Units occurred 11/4/22 to 12/4/22 for Phase 1 with the assistance of Housekeys and the approval of the City. The second drawing marketing period was 3/10/23 to 3/31/23 for both Phase 1 and Phase 2. Developer will continue to work with Housekeys and the City until all units are occupied.
Transportation Demand Management Program: As of 2024, the Developers are fully funding the Alameda Transportation Management Association fees as the building occupancy has stabilized. The Developer’s obligation for the Transportation Demand Management Program has been satisfied and fee payment to the ATMA will continue on an ongoing basis.
Clement Extension: The DA and Master Plan require the Developers to construct the Clement Avenue extension from Atlantic Avenue to Entrance Road and to have those improvements completed by January 15, 2022. The agreement allows for the City Manager to grant a one-time one-year extension, which was exercised to extend the deadline to January 15, 2023. On September 5, 2023, the City Council approved first reading of an Ordinance to accept the Developer’s offer of dedication for the Clement Extension and the public improvement of Buena Vista Avenue and Entrance Road. On September 20, 2023, in the City of Alameda Ordinance No. 3350, City Council accepted the Clement Extension as a City right of way. The Developer’s obligation for the Clement Extension has been satisfied.
Retail/Commercial Leasing: The Master Plan requires a minimum of 30,000 square feet of non-residential development, comprised of retail and commercial space and the ground floor area of work/live units. The City confirmed that the Project meets the requirement for 30,000 square feet of non-residential development (Planning Board Staff Report for July 8, 2019; Reso. No. PB-19-15). A retail leasing team has been hired and is actively marketing the spaces. Occupants began moving into the work/live units in 2023. As of November 2024, nine of the ten work/live units are occupied.
A retail leasing team was hired in 2022 and has been actively marketing the retail spaces. Despite extensive marketing efforts due to the struggling retail market, there were no occupied retail spaces by the end of 2024.
Del Monte Towns: In April 2024, the Planning Board approved a Development Plan, Design Review to develop 10 townhome units in sub-area C of Del Monte Warehouse Master Plan. In May 2024, Developer TLP also obtained City Council approval of Tentative Map Tract 8674 for this project.
In order to demonstrate good faith compliance, the Developers have submitted a letter describing compliance with the DA during the annual review period. Given the year-end timing of this year’s review, staff requested the Developers provide a letter covering 2023 and 2024 (Exhibit 1). Staff have reviewed and verified the information provided by Developer, and from staff’s perspective, Developers have complied in good faith with the terms and conditions of the DA for two annual review periods January 2023 through December 2023 and January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Development Agreement annual review is not a project as defined in the CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, therefore, no further action is required and none of the conditions of CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 requiring additional environmental review exist.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the draft resolution (Exhibit 2) finding that the Developers have demonstrated good faith compliance with the terms and conditions of the Development Agreement.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai
Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Annual Report Letter from Developers
2. Draft Resolution Approving Annual Report