Saranap Village Archive
These are articles on the Saranap Village project that have appeared previously on our site. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.
Saranap Village: Site by Site
Site A: The Heart of the Village
MAY 13, 2014—The building on Site A would be the heart of Saranap Village, directly facing the proposed roundabout at the Boulevard Way–Saranap Avenue intersection. It comprises what are today the vacant lot, the Sandpiper Apartments and the single-family house next to them on Saranap Avenue, and two office buildings and their shared parking lot east of the vacant lot on Boulevard Way.
Covering 63,917 square feet of land area, this is the largest of the four parcels that make up the development. The new building would consist of 155,147 square feet of residential units and 30,099 square feet of commercial space.
Saranap Village: Site by Site
Sites B and B1: Restaurant, Cafe, Retail, Condos
July 10, 2014—The other three parcels that make up Saranap Village would lie across Boulevard Way from Site A. Site B is where the Sufism Reoriented building and parking lot are today. Site B1 is a small triangular parcel wedged between Sites B and C. It consists of a portion of the former La Rosa’s/Boulevard Market and the existing driveway and guest parking area for the Boulevard Terrace condos. It would lie directly south of the roundabout at the Boulevard Way–Saranap Avenue intersection.
The restaurant would be located at the east end of the development on Site B. The café and two retail stores would be located next to it in the building on Site B1. Both buildings include retail on the ground floor and for-sale condominiums above. These two buildings are described in this article. The building on Site C, to the west, which would include only residences, will be the subject of a separate article.
Saranap Village Plans Updated:
2017 Completion Date Targeted
APRIL 24, 2014—Revised plans for Saranap Village submitted to the county by the developer in February include a substantial reduction in the number of residential units since the project was unveiled last April and the addition of 18,000 square feet of “nonresidential” space since October. Three-quarters of the new space would be devoted to a “boutique” fitness center with an outdoor lap pool that wasn’t part of the original plan.
Current plans differ in a number of ways from plans outlined by the developer a year ago – new features have been added and existing features altered. The revised plans reflect the work of the new architectural firm hired last summer, MBH Architects of Alameda.
HEG hopes to break ground on the project around the end of the first quarter of 2015 and complete construction during the third quarter of 2017.
Scoping Meeting Set for Saranap Village EIR
MARCH 29, 2014—A “scoping meeting” on the environmental impact report on Hall Equities Group’s proposed Saranap Village development will be held April 7 in Martinez.
Scoping meetings provide information about a project to government agencies that will or may be involved in an EIR. They're also an opportunity for the public to comment on topics relating to possible environmental impacts of a project.
An EIR is a thorough assessment of possible environmental impacts of a project. It addresses areas covered under the California Environmental Quality Act. Those included in the EIR for the Saranap Village project are aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation and traffic, utilities and service systems, and “mandatory findings of significance.”
New Architects, Roundabout Design,
County Planners Assigned
JULY 17, 2013—With a new architect on board and the first phase of its community outreach campaign complete, Hall Equities Group (HEG) is refining plans for its proposed Saranap Village project, with a late-summer timeframe for completing a formal application. The Walnut Creek-based developer has apparently decided on at least one aspect of the design: a roundabout at the intersection of Boulevard Way and Saranap Avenue.
HEG describes Saranap Village on its website as “an opportunity to transform a semi-blighted commercial and industrial area into a distinct commercial village with its own unique character and identity.” The development would be centered at the Boulevard Way–Saranap Avenue intersection. It would include “approximately 325 for-sale and for-rent housing units in three multi-level structures above approximately 22,000 square feet of street-level retail shops.”
General Plan Amendment Study Approved
MAY 21, 2013—A move by a small group of Saranap residents to derail the Saranap Village project before it gets off the ground failed this morning as the board of supervisors approved a study of the project and agreed to consider a related General Plan amendment. Opponents had been lobbying Second District Supervisor Candace Andersen to prohibit the developer, Hall Equities Group, from filing a routine application for the amendment.
Saranap Vision: Mixed-Use "Village" Proposed
MAY 6, 2013--It was just a matter of time. With its proximity to a thriving downtown Walnut Creek and two of the East Bay’s major freeways, it’s not a question of if but when the Saranap business district will be redeveloped. Now it appears that “when” may be soon, at least for part of the area.
A Walnut Creek developer in April announced plans for a mixed-use project in the area clustered around the Boulevard Way–Saranap Avenue intersection. Dubbed Saranap Village, it would include retail shops at street level with multiple levels of apartments and condominiums above.
A Walnut Creek developer in April announced plans for a mixed-use project in the area clustered around the Boulevard Way–Saranap Avenue intersection. Dubbed Saranap Village, it would include retail shops at street level with multiple levels of apartments and condominiums above.
