Pleasant Hill station to break ground

While Urban Habitat supports Transit-Oriented Development projects, the lack of affordable housing in this project is problematic.

By Lisa P. White

It may seem obvious today, but 28 years ago it was hard to convince people that building high-density housing next to a BART station was a good idea.

As suburban tract homes sprouted across the East Bay like kudzu vines, developers, employers, city leaders and residents resisted the idea of a mixed-use housing and commercial development near the Pleasant Hill BART station.

"Everybody fought it; this was not an easy thing to do," said former Contra Costa County Supervisor Sunne McPeak, who was involved in the project from its inception. "It was just one political battle after another because it was the first attempt at a transit village in California."

The $366 million Contra Costa Centre transit village is a joint project undertaken by BART, Contra Costa County and the county Redevelopment Agency. The new, 1,547-space Pleasant Hill BART parking garage, which opened last month, represents the first phase.

On Thursday, county and city leaders will gather for the groundbreaking on the second phase of the project. That includes 422 upscale apartments, 100 condominiums and 35,590 square feet of retail space. The third phase includes 270,000 square feet of office space, and a 19,400-square-foot conference center. The 7.5-acre project area is bounded by Treat Boulevard to the south, Oak Road to the west, Las Juntas Way to the north and Jones Road to the east.

Construction of the apartments and retail space is scheduled to be completed in late 2010. Because of the housing market crisis, developer AvalonBay Communities will put off building the condos for two years, according to Jim Kennedy, redevelopment director for Contra Costa County. It may take five to 10 years before the office space, being developed by Millennium Partners, is completed, he added.

"I think the timing could not be better; as much as it's painful to see daily the effects of the foreclosure issue and what that's doing to people who owned homes and can no longer buy homes, the rental market is stronger than it's been in a long, long time," Kennedy said. "Housing in a mixed-use setting with transit so you don't have to drive to do your day-to-day needs is absolutely critical if we are going to move forward as a society."

Funding for the project includes $135 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds, $14.2 million from the redevelopment agency and nearly $168 million from the developers.

"I think it will really be able to serve as a model statewide as a way to successfully do transit-oriented development," said Contra Costa County Supervisor Susan Bonilla, whose district includes Contra Costa Centre.

Existing transit villages in the Bay Area include developments at the Richmond, El Cerrito Del Norte and Fruitvale BART stations. In addition, Walnut Creek is preparing an environmental impact study of a proposed transit village that could include as many as 599 apartments and 45,000 square feet of commercial space. And Dublin has plans for a retail-hotel complex near the new Dublin-Pleasanton station.

Although these projects are designed to relieve traffic congestion by reducing the need for residents to drive, they also put strain on a BART system already struggling to accommodate increased ridership. About 6,000 passengers use the Pleasant Hill BART station on an average weekday.

Lisa P. White covers Pleasant Hill and Martinez.

Reach her at 925-943-8011 or lwhite@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Contra Costa Centre
The housing, retail and office space is being built on 7.5 acres of BART-owned land. The garage opened last month; the groundbreaking for the apartments and retail space is Thursday.