Title
Proposed Development Plan and Design Review Amendments and Lot Line Adjustment for the Del Monte Warehouse Building Project at 1501 Buena Vista. Applicant: TL Partners, L.P. Public Hearing to consider proposed amendments to the development plan and lot line adjustment to accommodate on-site parking requirements and design review amendments to revise surface materials and window materials on the addition to the approved addition to the building. A final environmental review document was approved for this project in 2014. No new significant impacts have been identified and no additional CEQA review is required
Body
To: Vice President Curtis and
Members of the Planning Board
From: Andrew Thomas, Acting Planning Building and Transportation Director
BACKROUND
In 2014, the Planning Board approved the Development Plan and Design Review plans for the adaptive reuse of the historic Del Monte warehouse building. Later that year, in December, the City Council approved a Development Agreement and Master Plan for the property. In addition to 380 new housing units and preservation of the unique historic brick façade of the building, the major additional public benefits provided by the project agreements include construction of the Clement Avenue extension and Cross Alameda Trail from Atlantic Avenue to Entrance Road and a $2 million contribution to the construction of Jean Sweeney Park. The 2014 approvals and agreements are available for review at www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Planning-Division/Major-Planning-Projects <http://www.alamedaca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building-and-Transportation/Planning-Division/Major-Planning-Projects>.
Since approval of the plans and agreements in 2014, TL Partners I L.P have:
• Provided the City $2 million for Jean Sweeney Park,
• Purchased the land necessary to construct the Clement Avenue Extension from Wind River and made a no-cost offer of dedication to the City; and
• Provided $3.6 million and land for the construction of 31 affordable senior housing units (Littlejohn Commons) by the Alameda Housing Authority. Ten (10) of the units are within the Del Monte Master Plan area, and 21 units are on an adjacent parcel that was conveyed to the Housing Authority from the City.
Unfortunately, since 2014, the TL Partners has been unable to secure financing for the construction of the Del Monte Warehouse and Clement Avenue portions of the project. With a construction cost of over $100 million, the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Del Monte Building alone is one of the most expensive single building construction projects in Alameda.
In 2018, TL Partners began to look for potential buyers with the financial resources to develop the project. As the result of these efforts, Wood Partners has expressed their interest in purchasing the Del Monte Building from TL Partners and developing the project and the Clement Avenue extension in conformance with the 2014 agreements.
DISCUSSION
Given the large investment required to complete the project, TL Partners is requesting specific project amendments, adjustments, and confirmations from the City to facilitate the sale and construction of the project; including:
• An amendment to the 2014 Design Review approval to allow a change in window materials and exterior wall materials on the roof top addition. The size of the addition, the size of the window openings, and the approved color scheme are not being changed.
• An amendment to the Development Plan to add the additional parking spaces needed for the project. The request is consistent with the Master Plan parking requirements.
• A Lot Line Adjustment to add the additional parking to the Del Monte parcels that would be purchased by Wood Partners. The request is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code and the project Master Plan.
• Confirmation that construction of 362 rental units in the Del Monte Building is in conformance with the Master Plan.
Design Review Amendment: Change of Window Frame and Surface Wall Materials for Rooftop Addition
The approved 2014 project design includes a roof top addition. The addition was approved in 2014 with aluminum frame windows and a smooth cement panel (Hardie-Board) siding material. (Story poles with small red flags that were placed on the building roof in 2014 are still visible from the public right of way. The poles indicate the location and height of the rooftop addition.)
As shown in Exhibit 1, Wood Partners would like to change the windows in the roof top addition to a vinyl frame material. (The windows within the historic brick façade would remain aluminum as approved). The submittal indicated that the stucco would be “raked”; the applicant has agreed to remove the raking, such that the stucco will be a medium sand finish with no raking. Staff has added a condition of approval requiring that the stucco surface be a smooth stucco, similar to the originally approved smooth hardie board surface.
Staff is recommending the requested changes for the following reasons:
• The window size, window frame color, the inset of the window in the wall, and the color of the surrounding walls will not change from the approved plans.
• The addition is located 60 feet back from the existing north and south facing brick façades and 120 feet back from the Sherman Street and Entrance Road brick facades. At this distance and given that the color of the window frames will not change, staff does not believe the change in window frame material will be noticeable to the typical person viewing the building from the public right of way.
• Many high quality multifamily buildings currently under construction in the Bay Area and East Bay are successfully using these materials. Staff will provide examples at the public hearing. Sample window frames and color samples will also be provided.
Development Plan Amendment: Parking Lot Design and Lot Line Adjustments to Support Del Monte Building Reuse.
The 2014 Development Plan included a surface parking lot design for a portion of the property and required the applicant to return at a future date with a parking plan for the remainder of the property located on subarea C.
TL Partners has now submitted that addition parking plan for City approval as required by the Master Plan. (Exhibit 2). Wood Partners is proposing to redevelop the building to include 30,000 square feet of commercial space and 362 of the 380 residential units allowed by the Master Plan. (Ten of the 380 units are located in the Littlejohn Commons building, and the remaining eight (8) units will be constructed on the remaining undeveloped pad in subarea C adjacent to the additional land purchased from Wind River by TL Partners.
As shown in Exhibit 2, the parking lot plan provides 509 total parking spaces (306 spaces in the building and 203 surface parking spaces to be shared by the 362 households and the commercial tenants. The proposed parking plan completes the parking design for the Del Monte Master Plan subarea C and includes about 15 spaces on the adjacent parcel that was purchased by TL Partners from Windriver. The adjacent parcel is zoned for commercial use with a Planned Development (“PD overlay”). The PD overlay requires submittal of a Development Plan for review and approval prior to construction of improvements on the now vacant parcel. Parking is a permitted use on the property. The Lot Line Adjustment discussed later in this report allows Wood Partners to purchase the Del Monte Building parcels and the adjacent surface parking lots that are required for the building by the Master Plan.
The parking will be managed by a central parking manager and the cost of parking be separated from the cost of the rental units or commercial leases. The building will also be prewired to allow for easy addition of additional electric vehicle chargers as demand warrants. The initial construction will include four electric chargers for use by building tenants. Additional chargers will be added by Wood as demand for the facilities increases. The 2014 approval included 185 on-site bicycle parking space, but required the applicant to increase the number of spaces to meet the code. The Del Monte project now includes 445 total on-site bicycle parking spaces (380 in building, 65 on site). Finally, consistent with the prior approvals, the project includes construction of 130 public parking spaces on the surrounding streets facing the warehouse.
Staff supports the development plan amendment to approve the final design of the parking area for the following reasons:
• The changes are in substantial conformance with the Master Plan and the approved TDM Plan for the project.
• The proposal provides approximately 1.37 space per unit. According to the US Census, households in the adjacent neighborhoods own approximately 1.6 cars per household. The Del Monte Building differs from the adjacent neighborhood in two significant ways that justify the slight difference in expected car ownership: 1) the average size of the units in the Del Monte building is smaller than the average size of a housing unit in the adjacent neighborhood, (71% of the units in the building will be one bedroom units) and 2) the Del Monte residents have access to, on-site transportation services and on-site car share services.
• A 2009 study by University of California researchers Cervero, Adkins, and Sullivan of nine existing, occupied transit oriented residential projects in the East Bay communities of Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, San Leandro, and Union City found that actual demand for parking in these transit oriented projects ranged from 0.92 to 1.23 spaces per unit.
Lot Line Adjustment:
The applicant is requesting City Engineer and Planning Director approval to move a lot line between two parcels as shown in Exhibit 3. The requested adjustment would allow Wood Partners to purchase and own the Del Monte building and the associated surface parking areas described above. Staff supports the lot line adjustment for the following reasons:
• The lot line adjustment facilitates and supports the sale and construction of the project as approved in 2014.
• The adjustment supports the unified development of the property by different property owners consistent with the Master Plan for the property and the ultimate configuration of the Atlantic/Clement/Sherman intersection.
• The adjustment does not increase the number of lots, and the reconfigured parcels meet all of the applicable zoning and subdivision requirements.
Finding of Conformity
In 2014, TL Partners planned to prepare a condominium map for the project, which would allow them to either rent the units, or if market conditions supported sale, sell some or all of the units. Although none of the City project approvals mandated that the units be sold, many of TL Partners submittals and project descriptions discuss their plans to create condominium units that might be rented or sold. Wood Partners plans is to build the project with 362 rental residential units. Wood has no plans to create a condominium map, create a homeowners association, or sell individual units. They want to ensure that the City is comfortable with that plan. Staff is recommending a finding of conformity in the attached resolution (Exhibit 4) confirming that construction of 362 rental units in the Del Monte building is consistent with the Master Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In 2008, the City of Alameda certified an EIR for the Northern Waterfront General Plan Amendment. The City of Alameda approved a Subsequent Mitigated Negative Declaration on April 29, 2014, for the Del Monte Master Plan, which is designed to implement the Northern Waterfront General Plan Element. The proposed Design Review and Development Plan Amendment and Lot Line Adjustment is consistent with the prior approvals and will not result in any new or more severe environmental impacts than were previously identified in the Subsequent Mitigated Negative Declaration. As a result, no additional environmental review is required for the proposed Amendments or adjustments.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
Property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project’s boundaries were notified of the public hearing and given the opportunity to review and comment on the proposal. No public comments have been received at the time of this staff report.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the attached draft Resolution (Exhibit 4) approving the Design Review Amendment, Development Plan Amendment, and Lot Line Adjustment.
Respectfully Submitted,
Allen Tai
Planning Services Manager
Exhibits:
1. Design Review Amendment Plans
2. Development Plan Amendment Plans
3. Lot Line Adjustment
4. Draft Resolution