Title
Planning Board Workshop on Alameda Point Site A Design Review for Block 10 Commercial Urban Park
Body
To: President and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
BACKGROUND
In June 2015, the City Council unanimously approved the Site A Development Plan for a 68-acre area within Alameda Point that extends generally from the Main Street entrance to Alameda Point to the Seaplane Lagoon and the eastern edge of the Naval Air Station Alameda Historic District (Historic District).
The Site A Development Plan stipulates that the project will include approximately 14.8 acres of publicly accessible open space, parks and plazas representing approximately 22% of the 68-acre property, including a unique urban park with rehabilitated existing Navy buildings for visitor and neighborhood serving retail uses on “Block 10” at the heart of the mixed use project and across the street from the Waterfront Park. (The location of Block 10 within the Site A Development Plan is shown in the graphic below.)
The retail uses on Block 10 will contribute to the up to 400,000 square feet of commercial development in existing buildings and approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space in new buildings,
Since the City Council action on the Development Plan, the project proponents, Alameda Point Partners (APP) and BCV Architects, an experienced retail design firm, have been working to prepare detailed designs for the one new building, the rehabilitation of the three existing buildings and adjacent approximately three acres of public park for Block 10.
On December 17, 2015, the Planning Board Subcommittee provided direction and suggestions for improvements to APP/BCV’s initial plans for Block 10. The attached plans (Exhibit 1) represent the revised plans for Block 10.
At this time, the Subcommittee, City staff, and the APP/BCV team would like to give the Alameda community and the full Planning Board an early opportunity to review and comment on the draft plans for Block 10. Although the attached plans represent a “work in progress”, the Subcommittee and staff also believe that it is important for the full Planning Board and community to see the plans for Block 10 while the Planning Board and community are considering the plans for the adjacent improvements at Block 11 and the Waterfront Park. Although each block must be well designed, and pursuant to the Development Plan, each adjacent block must be designed by a different architectural team, it is also important that each block relate well to the adjacent blocks and parks to ensure a successful mixed use, pedestrian friendly and architecturally successful urban environment.
DISCUSSION
Community Planning Process
The plans for retail services and open space at Alameda Point are the result of a community planning process that is over 20 years long. 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, including public parks and retail services.
• The adoption of the Alameda General Plan Alameda Point Element and EIR in 2003, which placed the Community Reuse Plan vision and the open space and retail goals 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 2014 adoption of the Alameda Point Zoning Ordinance, Master Infrastructure Plan (MIP) and third EIR consistent with the Community Reuse Plan, 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 between 2012 and 2014.
• 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 Waterfront Park at the heart of Alameda Point. The Town Center Plan included the most detailed plans prepared to date for a mixed use district at the heart of Alameda Point with supporting retail services and open spaces.
• The June 2015 adoption of the Site A Development Plan (shown above), which provided a detailed plan for 68 acres at the heart of the Waterfront Town Center planning area and the commitment to include a variety of commercial employment uses, retail service uses, and open spaces within the project. 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. The Site A Development Plan was also shaped by the Recreation and Parks Commission, Historical Advisory Board, 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:
• 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.
• 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.
• Residential units are provided in multifamily building types on eight blocks located immediately adjacent to the primary transit corridor along the 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.
• 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 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.
• To create a comfortable transition between the adjacent Bayport neighborhood and the commercial center at the Seaplane Lagoon, the height and residential density of 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.
Block 10 Retail and Open Space Program
Block 10 is designed to create a hub of artful and innovative commercial enterprises paired with public open plazas that will support an engaging and vibrant waterfront commercial and residential district. The primary design objectives for Block 10 are to:
• Create a Unique Retail Destination: The plans are designed to create a successful and completely unique retail destination within the heart of the project.
• Create a Unique Public Space: The plans are designed to create a clear and strong open space connection between the waterfront park to the west, and the neighborhood park to the east creating a continuous and contiguous “necklace of parks” throughout the project.
• Embrace History. The plans are designed to take advantage of the history of the site, the existing buildings and landscape features to embrace and highlight the history of Alameda Point and creating a unique urban district
• Provide a Pleasing Visual Contrast to Adjacent Blocks. With its open space and shorter, smaller buildings, and retail uses, Block 10 provides an intimate contrast to the taller, larger residential mixed use buildings on the adjacent Blocks 11 and 9. This physical and visual contrast helps to create a more interesting urban design for the entire district by avoiding a monotonous uniformity in scale and building height in this area of Site A and reinforcing the mixed use land pattern that is integral to the Site A Development Plan and the City’s General Plan and Town Center Plan objectives for Alameda Point.
As shown in Exhibit 1, these design objectives are implemented by a number of design strategies, including, but not limited to the following strategies:
Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse: Block 10 includes four relatively small buildings that will be used for retail purposes. Three of the four buildings are existing former Navy buildings that will be rehabilitated and adaptively reused for retail uses. Within the public park areas, the existing rails from the prior use of the land by rail cars, and other materials that remain from the prior use of the land by the U.S. Navy, will be retained and reused in the design of the district. Reuse of existing buildings and preservation of existing cultural landscape features and materials will work to create a truly unique and interesting retail environment and public spaces.
New Construction: The one new retail building with its open glass façade and winged roof design facing Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway and Waterfront Park across the street is designed to create a strong visual connection between the Waterfront Park, its commercial pavilion with its winged roof design, and the interconnecting open spaces that are integral to the Site A Development Plan open space objectives. The new building is positioned e to create a continuous street-facing retail frontage between Block 11, Block 10, and Block 9.
Open Space: The plan includes construction of approximately three acres of public open space within the approximately four acre block. The space is designed to support and compliment the retail uses and the configuration of the existing buildings and reflect the consumer desire for an authentic place to congregate, connect and engage. Shopping areas today are redefining themselves from strictly retail stops to "activity centers" woven into the social fabric of communities. Therefore the designed provides for window shopping, strolling, cafes, and casual, informal and safe spaces for adults and children. Additionally the district is designed to accommodate more intimate events sponsored by Alameda Point merchants and others. Lastly, as shown in the site plans, the orientation of the open spaces within Block 10 are also design to provide convenient and easy pedestrian access and visual access to the major waterfront park to the southwest and the long neighborhood park to the north east of Block 10.
Retail Uses. The four buildings on the Block are planned and designed to support a variety of related individual retailers. The names shown on the plans reflect the initial merchandise plan created by Madison Marquette. The new front building has been imagined “The Distillery Building” and is designed to house retailers that specialize in beverage manufacture and sale, such as winemakers, coffee roasters, and/or spirits. Its design is purposely flexible yet very distinctive so that it can accommodate a variety of users Building 98, closest to Block 11, is called the “West Seaplane Shops” and is designed to appeal to a wide range of retailers, perhaps a small grocery store (less than 5,000 square feet), bicycle shop, or other similar neighborhood retailers. Building 67 “Bauhaus of Foods and Garden” at the rear of the Block is designed to house other food and beverage businesses and/or garden and home decorating or improvement businesses. Building 112 adjacent to Block 9 is the “Market Hall” building, which is designed for antique stores, home décor, and other similar uses.
To address the need for visitor automobile parking, the Site A Development Plan provides for a public parking lot immediately adjacent to Block 10. In the initial phases of the development, the site will be utilized as a surface parking lot. As demand for parking increases with the development of each block at Site A, the surface lot may be expanded to a parking structure.
Architectural Design. The architectural design of each building is unique, which will serve to further reinforce the character of this one-of-a-kind place. The new building facing Ralph Appazzato Memorial Parkway exhibits large glass pane windows that reflect the historic design of the Navy Hangers on Hanger Row, the winged roof design to reflect the winged roof of the waterfront park pavilion, and industrial/manufacturing style siding to reinforce the manufacturing nature of the businesses and the manufacturing and warehousing uses that historically occupied the site.
The other three buildings are existing buildings originally constructed by the Navy for manufacturing, repair, and warehousing purposes that will be creatively rehabilitated and improved to accommodate the envisioned retail uses. Although the buildings will be improved for modern retail uses, the architects have chosen to use materials and architectural forms that are consistent with the historic use of the site and the buildings.
It should be emphasized that although the design emphasizes the history of the base and the buildings, none of the buildings nor any part of the block are within the NAS Historic District.
Transit-Oriented Mixed-Use Design: Block 10 fronts onto the major transit within Alameda Point’s “town center”, where it has the opportunity to support a transit-and pedestrian-oriented mixed use district. Consistent with the Site A Development Plan and Town Center Plan, Block 10 includes approximately 40,000 square feet of retail uses to support the approximately 400 housing units planned for Blocks 11 and 9 and the 128 affordable units on Block 8. Providing retail opportunities within easy walking distance will reduce automobile trips by Alameda Point residents.
The retailers on Block 10 will be supported by 15-minute transit services to the regional ferry, BART, Downtown Oakland, and nearby west Alameda neighborhoods, which make it easier for visitors to Block 10 retailers to use transit rather than individual automobiles.
To address the need for universally designed public spaces and retail business:
• Retail spaces will be compliant with ADA accessibility requirements;
• Public spaces will be accessible and benches and other public facilities will be designed to be useable for visitors with disabilities.
To address sustainable design, Block 10 includes:
• Materials and sourcing of materials responsive to current green building standards;
• Solar panels for photovoltaic energy and solar hot water;
• Drought tolerant landscape with smart controllers to reduce water consumption; and
• On-site storm water collection, retention and filtration.
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 Planning Board study session on Alameda Point Site A Block 10 to provide direction and suggestions for the design of the urban park and the architectural design of the four buildings.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Assistant Community Development Director
Jennifer Ott, Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point
Exhibit:
1. Block 10 Architectural Design Plans