City of Alameda - File #: 2016-2449

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Historical Advisory Board Workshop on Alameda Point Site A Design Review for Block Eleven Architectural Design and adjacent Waterfront Street Design and Waterfront Park

Body

To: Honorable Chair and

Members of the Historical Advisory Board

From: Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point

Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director

Date: January 7, 2016

BACKGROUND

In July 2014, the City Council approved a Waterfront Town Center Specific Plan (Town Center Plan) for the area of Alameda Point that includes the Ralph Appezzato entrance to Alameda Point at Main Street and the taxiways, several of the seaplane hangars north of the Seaplane Lagoon, and the Seaplane Lagoon, which are partially located within the Naval Air Station Alameda Historical District (Historic District). The Town Center Plan includes guidelines for new construction within these portions of the Historic District and guidelines for how to treat the contributing cultural landscape features.

In June 2015, the City Council approved the “Site A" Development Plan for the 68-acre area within the Town Center Plan area that extends from the Ralph Appazzato Entrance at Main Street to the Seaplane Lagoon. The Site A Plan (shown below) was designed to achieve a number of important General Plan, Zoning, and historic preservation objectives.

Since the City Council action on the Development Plan, the project proponents, Alameda Point Partners (APP), have been working with their design consultants, park planners, a Planning Board Subcommittee and City staff to prepare detailed designs for the individual buildings and parks within Site A.

On December 14, 2015, the Planning Board held a study session to review the initial designs for the first building to be designed on Block 11 and the adjacent waterfront street. The western portions of the Block 11 building and portions of the waterfront street are located within the Historic District. As a result, the Block 11 building will require a Certificate of Approval from the HAB in addition to design review approval from the Planning Board.

Additionally, on January 11, 2016, the Planning Board will hold a study session to review the plans for an initial phase of the adjacent waterfront park (Exhibit 2). The Waterfront Park is located on the northern edge of the Seaplane Lagoon within the Historic District and will also require a Certificate of Approval from the HAB, in addition to design review approval from the Planning Board. The design will also be reviewed by the Recreation and Parks Commission on January 14, 2016.

DISCUSSION

At this time, City staff is requesting that the HAB review and comment on the current plans for Block 11, the adjacent waterfront street, and the Waterfront Park. Based upon comments received from the HAB and the community, the design team will make final revisions to the plans and return at a later date with a recommendation to approve a Certificate of Approval from the HAB.

The plans for Block 11 and the adjacent waterfront street, and the Waterfront Park are attached as Exhibits 1 and 2. The cultural landscape guidelines for the Historic District Infill Guidelines from the Town Center Plan are attached as Exhibits 3 and 4.

Community Planning Process

On June 16, 2015, the City Council unanimously approved the Site A Development Plan (shown above). The City Council’s action was made possible, in part, by a unique and extensive community-based planning process that began in 1993, and continued for over 20 years. The major milestones during this extensive community effort include:

• The adoption of the 1996 Alameda Naval Air Station Community Reuse Plan (Community Reuse Plan) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in 1998, which envisioned reuse and redevelopment of Alameda Point with 5.5 million square feet of employment uses and 1,425 residential units.

• The adoption of the Alameda General Plan Alameda Point Element and EIR in 2003, which placed the Reuse Plan vision into the Alameda General Plan.

• The July 2013 endorsement of the Alameda Point Vision Guide reconfirming the community’s support for the vision and goals presented in the Community Reuse Plan and General Plan.

• The adoption of the Alameda Point Zoning Ordinance, Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) and third EIR consistent with the Community Reuse Plan in 2014, which established the zoning and development regulations and the Alameda Point Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) necessary to support 5.5 million square feet of employment uses and 1,425 residential units, after over 30 public hearings and community meetings.

• The May 2014 adoption of the Alameda Point Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM Plan) consistent with the General Plan and the Alameda Point EIR, which creates a comprehensive program of strategies, measures, and transit services that supports a transit-oriented development at Alameda Point, achieves the City of Alameda’s General Plan goals to reduce automobile trips, and mitigates potential traffic impacts.

• The July 2014 adoption of the Town Center Plan, which established the form-based development standards, height limits and pedestrian oriented development standards for the lands at the gateway and surrounding the Seaplane Lagoon at the heart of Alameda Point.

• Monthly meetings from January 2015 through June 2015, with both the Planning Board and the City Council to review progress and develop the Site A Development Plan prepared by APP. This work was also informed by meetings with the Recreation and Parks Commission, HAB, Transportation Commission, and public open houses and public walking tours.

Overview of Site A Development Plan

The approved Site A Development Plan implements the Community Reuse Plan, General Plan, the Zoning Ordinance for Alameda Point, and the requirements of the MIP and Town Center Plan. The Site A Development Plan and project include:

• Eight hundred of the 1,425 total residential units programmed for Alameda Point and up to 400,000 square feet of commercial development in existing buildings, approximately 200,000 square feet of retail and hotel space in new buildings.

• Approximately 14.8 acres of publicly accessible open space, parks and plazas representing approximately 22% of the 68-acre property, and approximately 16.3 acres of public streets and sidewalks representing an additional 24% of the property.

• Residential units are provided in multifamily building types on eight blocks located immediately adjacent to the primary transit corridor along the Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (RAMP) that links a future ferry terminal at the Seaplane Lagoon with the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service between Site A and downtown Oakland.

• All residential units on Site A will be within a one-block walk or less of the BRT line, protected bicycle lanes along RAMP and public open space to facilitate a pedestrian oriented environment.

• Of the 800 units, approximately 635 of the units will be in stacked flat buildings over parking and approximately 165 of the units will be in attached or stacked townhomes and row houses.

• To create a comfortable transition between the adjacent Bayport neighborhood and the commercial center at the Seaplane Lagoon, the height and residential density of1 the eight residential blocks increase along RAMP and across Site A from Main Street to the Seaplane Lagoon. The blocks facing Main Street and the Bayport neighborhood are the lowest density blocks with three-story townhomes. The blocks closest to the Seaplane Lagoon and the commercial center of the project will provide space for the higher density multifamily housing units that will support the commercial uses and waterfront activities.

• To facilitate a pedestrian oriented “town center” environment, Blocks 3, 4, 8, 9, and 11 in the Development Plan will have ground floor retail and/or adaptive spaces for retail facing RAMP.

• Existing buildings will be marketed primarily for flexible R&D, office and/or light industrial and retail uses or ancillary retail uses. These uses are complementary to existing uses within the adjacent adaptive reuse area, which include clean-tech companies and food and beverage manufacturing production uses.

• A TDM Compliance Strategy that includes dedicated annual funding for transit services and transportation programs.

• $10 million for construction of the new Ferry Terminal at the Seaplane Lagoon to support expanded ferry services to San Francisco and the region.

• Over $8.5 million to construct complete streets in and around Alameda Point, including key transit improvements, such as dedicated bus lanes on RAMP to support expanded transit services from Alameda Point to downtown Oakland and BART.

• 200 of the 800 units (25%) restricted to very low-, low- and moderate-income households. The other 600 units will be market rate units.

• One hundred twenty-eight (128) of the 200 affordable units permanently restricted for very low-, low- and moderate-income households. These units are proposed to be constructed by Eden Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, in one or two buildings on a shared or separate podium on Block 8 in the first phase of the development. Eden Housing is exploring either providing 128 units for very low-, low-income family housing or 50% of the units as low- and very low income senior housing and the remaining 50% as very low- or low-income family housing. Eden Housing will also provide long-term property management and resident services targeted to the needs of its residents. Seventy-two (72) moderate-income units will be dispersed throughout the remaining residential blocks of Site A in buildings to be constructed as part of the Site A Development Plan.

Block 11 Architectural and adjacent Waterfront Street Design

Block 11 and the adjacent waterfront street (Exhibit 1) are designed to meet the community’s design objectives established by the Alameda community through the Community Reuse Plan, the General Plan, the Town Center Plan, and the Site A Development Plan.

As one of the first major new buildings constructed at Alameda Point since the departure of the U.S Navy from Alameda Point almost 20 years ago, Block 11 is located at the very heart of the Site A Development Plan and Alameda Point Waterfront Town Center planning area. Given its important geographic location within Alameda Point, the Block 11 design must meet a variety of important public objectives:

Waterfront Orientation: Block 11 fronts onto the Seaplane Lagoon and the new Waterfront Park where it will provide a transition between the urban fabric of Alameda Point and the natural environment of the Seaplane Lagoon and the San Francisco Bay.

The Block 11 building and adjacent waterfront street are designed to face the water to the south west of the building and make it as easy as possible for residents of the building and visitors to the building to view the water, walk to the water, and enjoy and appreciate the waterfront location. Designed a "naked street" without curbs, the design also respects the Historic District cultural landscape guidelines, which emphasize the Navy's historic street and taxiway design without curbs or with rolled curbs, which serves to emphasize the horizontality and the "flatness" and "openness" of the historic character of the street and landscape pattern.

The waterfront street in front of Block 11 is designed to serve as an extension of the adjacent Waterfront Park and provide a strong pedestrian-oriented, bicycle friendly, street front between the building and the park. Designed without curbs and without asphalt, the “naked street” utilizes paving materials, colors and textures, along with landscaping, to create an inviting public space through which vehicles may slowly pass, approximately 12 vehicles may be parked, pedestrians may stroll along and across, and bicyclists may pass through with little concern for speeding vehicles.

Historic District Gateway: Block 11 fronts onto the adjacent Historic District where it will provide an architectural transition between the Historic District to the west and the non-historic portions of Alameda Point and Site A to the east.

The Block 11 architectural design shares architectural elements, materials and colors that reflect and respect, without replicating, the “Art Moderne” architectural style of the most important contributing buildings in the Historic District. Examples of these elements include the strong horizontal lines that define the architectural design of the building, (See photo of nearby building 8 with it strong horizontal lines), the use of rounded forms on the south west, water-facing corner of the building, (See NAS Alameda Museum Building 77 below), the use of glass and light off-white concrete and stucco materials, and ground floor retail elevation elements that reflect the design of the large multi-pane Hanger doors that are such defining features of the adjacent Hanger Row (See Hanger Row photo below). Additionally, the siting of the Block 11 building and adjacent waterfront street respect the historic street alignment and maintain view corridors along RAMP and Pan Am and of the seaplane hangars looking north.

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Transit-Oriented Mixed-Use Development: Block 11 fronts onto the major transit corridor and commercial center within Alameda Point’s “town center”, where it has the opportunity to create a transit-and pedestrian-oriented higher density mixed-use living environment. Consistent with the Site A Development Plan and Town Center Plan, Block 11 includes 220 of the 800 new residential units approved for Site A. Of the 220 units, 20 units will be deed restricted for moderate-income households. The total building height is approximately 78 feet to the top of parapet.

The residents of Block 11 will have access to:

• Approximately 25,000 square feet of on-site ground floor commercial retail uses;

• A variety of on-site amenities including approximately 4,500 square feet of interior community and recreational facilities, as well as a large landscape podium above the retail and parking levels with lap pool and a roof top garden with views to the bay and San Francisco beyond;

• Two lobbies that serve residents, each accessed through a street-facing garden;

• 15-minute transit services to the regional ferry, BART, Downtown Oakland, and nearby Alameda shopping districts, and access to on-site amenities;

• Directly accessible space for the secure storage of approximately 240 bicycles, with contiguous space for bicycle maintenance and repair; and

• 224 on-site unbundled parking spaces plus 11 tandem spaces for resident parking as well as 60 parking spaces available for retail uses.

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Programs: Consistent with the approved Alameda Point TDM Plan and the Site A TDM Compliance Strategy, residents and employees of Block 11 will be provided AC Transit easy passes, on-site bike share facilities and access to other TDM programs.

Universal Design: To address the need for universally designed units:

• All 220 units will have direct access from an accessible route with elevator service;

• All 220 units will be constructed with adaptable kitchens and bathrooms with clearances and accommodation for individual accessibility in compliance with state and federal accessibility codes;

• Enclosed and secure auto and handicap van accessible parking; and

• Accommodations for the visually and hearing impaired.

Green Building Technologies: To address sustainable design, Block 11 includes:

• Materials and sourcing of materials responsive to current green building standards;

• Solar panels for photovoltaic energy and solar hot water;

• High performance energy conserving systems for resident-controlled and metered mechanical, electrical systems, energy efficient window and roofing systems and water conserving plumbing fixtures;

• Drought tolerant landscape with smart controllers to reduce water consumption; and

• On-site storm water collection, retention and filtration.

Waterfront Park Design

The 2.63-acre waterfront park depicted in Exhibit 1 represents the first phase of a larger 6.7 acre waterfront park, which is part of the 13 acre public park plan to be designed and constructed as part of the Site A project.

The 13 acres are comprised of three “park districts”: the “Waterfront Park District”, the “Urban Park District”, and the “Neighborhood Park District”, and each district is designed to provide a range of public open space and park facilities.

In general, the Waterfront Park District emphasizes spaces for passive recreation and access to the water, waterfront promenades, water viewing areas, seating areas, and gathering spaces. The Urban Park District emphasizes public spaces adjacent to and within an urban commercial fabric, including an emphasis on outdoor cafés, restaurants, seating areas, and similar public spaces in and around retail areas. The Neighborhood Park District emphasizes active recreational uses adjacent to primarily residential areas, such as children’s play areas and “tot lots”, basketball courts, and other neighborhood and community serving open space and recreational facilities. As shown on page L-7 of the phase 1 waterfront park submittal, the design and programming of the phase 1 waterfront park must be considered within the larger context of the other parks planned within Site A.

The first phase of the waterfront park (Exhibit 2) is designed to achieve to provide public access to the waterfront, an entrance to the Historic District, and ensure the long term viability of the area by addressing sea-level rise in a manner that is consistent with the Historic District Cultural Landscape Guidelines.

Provide a Public Gathering Place at the Water's Edge and Create Varied Park and Open Space Experiences. Phase 1 Waterfront Park is designed to provide a variety of public spaces for passive recreation and opportunities for the public to enjoy the waterfront location and special events, and appreciate the views of the San Francisco skyline and the historic row of seaplane hangar buildings at the entrance to the Historic District, along the northern edge of the Seaplane Lagoon. The 2.63-acre Phase 1 Waterfront Park is designed to create three primary sub-areas (i.e., the Overlook, the Promenade & Terraces, and the Taxiway).

a. The Overlook starting on page LW-4 includes a pavilion for a café with outdoor seating and restrooms, as well as an elevated wood outdoor area for overlooking the promenade at the water’s edge, as well as portions of the promenade adjacent to the water.

b. The Promenade and Terraces starting on page LW-9 consists of a series of terraces and promenade spaces leading down to the water’s edge that provide for a variety of more passive spaces for enjoying and experiencing the waterfront.

c. The Taxiway area starting on page LW-14 is intended to pay homage and respect to the historic elements of the former NAS Alameda by engraving a timeline along the major east west gathering area into the concrete to remind and educate the public about the history of the site and the Historic District, and by minimizing tree plantings and planted areas to preserve the "openness" of the historic taxiways consistent with the Historic District guidelines. This area includes open and unobstructed areas planned for special events and food trucks and future retail buildings as conceived in the Site A Development Plan and a temporary multi-purpose lawn for active recreation uses until future phases of the Waterfront Park are constructed and this area is designed consistent with the areas to the north.

d. Consistent with the Historic District guidelines, tree plantings and planted areas are minimized to preserve the "openness" of the historic taxiways. Where trees are planted, they are placed to emphasize the character defining views identified in the cultural landscape guidelines for the Historic District.

Addressing Sea level Rise within the Context of the Historic District Guidelines. With anticipated sea level rise, the existing taxiways will flood during higher tides and storm events. Consistent with the approved Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) policies, the Waterfront Park is designed to address 24-inches of sea level rise and additional sea level rise in future years beyond 24 inches through adaptive management strategies. The waterfront park design maintains the "horizontality" of the space and minimize the use of walls in order to respect the cultural landscape guidelines. The sea level rise strategy is designed around a series of short terraces spread over a larger space to minimize the impression of changes in elevation. This approach also allows for the preservation of the existing bulkhead, which is a character defining feature of the Historic District. During storm events and "King Tides" (unusually high tides), the bulkhead and adjacent promenade will flood occasionally as the sea level rises over time, but major portions of the public park and Bay Trail will remain above the flooded areas behind the stepped terraces. As such, the design achieves a critical balance between the competing needs of sea-level rise and preserving the bulkhead, while creating a sustainable, engaging and aesthetically pleasing community asset and maintaining the horizontality of the site.

Conclusion

At this time, the design team and city staff are requesting that the Historical Advisory Board and the community review and comment the design plans for the Block 11 and the initial phase of the waterfront park.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

On February 4, 2014, the City of Alameda certified the Alameda Point Final EIR in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Final EIR evaluated the environmental impacts of redevelopment and reuse of the lands at Alameda Point consistent with the Town Center Plan, which included Site A. No further review is required for this review of the project designs.

RECOMMENDATION

Hold a workshop on Alameda Point Site A design review for Block Eleven architectural design and adjacent waterfront street design and Waterfront Park.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director

Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point

Exhibits:

1. Block 11 Architectural Design and adjacent Waterfront Street Plans

2. Waterfront Park Plans

3. Approved Cultural Landscape Guidelines for Historic District

4. Historic District Infill Guidelines from Town Center Plan