Saranap Vision
Mixed-Use Village Proposed for Business District
A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE? This conceptual illustration shows how Saranap Village might look when approached from the east on Boulevard Way (photo). Photo and illustration courtesy of Hall Equities Group.
It’s 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. 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.
“This plan proposes to restore Boulevard Way from its current lifeless expanse of unfriendly asphalt pavement to a compatible and functional multifaceted and pedestrian-friendly street that creates a unique identity and quality environment for not only Saranap Village, but the entire community,” says developer Hall Equities Group on the project website. “The redevelopment of Saranap will replace the unfriendly environment and streetscape with a vibrant, attractive sense of place for a true livable village atmosphere.”
Key features of the proposed project include
Other features include sidewalks, sidewalk seating and street furniture, three crosswalks, a “village monument sign” located on the market hall, and new street lighting, all intended to contribute to a “a safe, pedestrian-friendly street scene.”
“Traffic-Calming” Features
Boulevard Way in the project area would be narrowed from four lanes to two, with angled head-in parking on both sides of the street in the “village.” Additional parking would be available beneath and behind the stores.
Preliminary designs show two “traffic-calming” roundabouts, one near Flora Avenue, the other at the Saranap Avenue–Boulevard Way intersection. The latter, the larger of the two, would include a sculpture and/or fountain. A large valley oak tree now located in the parking lot of 1300 Boulevard Way would be replanted in the roundabout near Flora, just west of a “gateway entry arch” spanning the street.
Apartments and Condos
Current plans call for about 325 apartments and condos, ranging from five to seven stories, in three separate structures. Some of these would be for sale, some for rent. The number and configuration of these units could change, Hall Equities Group President and Chief Executive Officer Mark D. Hall told SCA board members at a May 2 orientation at the company’s downtown Walnut Creek offices. He noted that while the design of the project is continuing to evolve, one element the company is committed to is the market hall, which would be the retail cornerstone of the complex.
The project would be built on the site of the old La Rossa’s Market; the property at 1300 Boulevard Way currently occupied by Sufism Reoriented; the vacant lot across the street from 1300 Boulevard Way and the office building adjacent to it; and the parcel where the Sandpiper apartments now stand.
The project will raise property values throughout the area, HEG says.
“Almost Blight”
There exists “an almost blight condition in the portion of Saranap located along Boulevard Way,” the company says on the Saranap Village website.
“One reason for its poor current condition is a lack of any coordinated effort to assemble and properly design and implement a synergistic master plan and coordinated vision. Because of this, and the lack of any major reinvestment in this area over the course of many years, the area has continued to foster completely unrelated, independent uses that lack community-binding purpose and appeal, and thereby further contribute to its lack of appeal.”
Cash-strapped Contra Costa County can’t afford to fund extensive public infrastructure improvements associated with the project, provide capital investment, or even provide maintenance if it’s built. “Therefore, the substantial cost of providing such extensive and quality public infrastructure improvements has to be assumed by our project,” HEG says on the project website. Assuming these costs “creates the need for the project to achieve sufficient scale and size to be able to absorb the financial burdens these costs represent, including their ongoing maintenance.”
Seeking Community Input
HEG representatives have met with the boards of directors of the SCA and the Saranap Homeowners Organization and residents of the Boulevard Terrace condos, which lie at the heart of the proposed development. Residents of neighborhoods surrounding the complex were invited to open houses at the company’s downtown Walnut Creek offices. HEG has also met with owners of adjacent properties. The response, CEO Hall says, has generally been “very positive.”
At these meetings and open houses and on its website, HEG has been actively seeking community input on various aspects of the project, including basic design features. There’s a survey on the Saranap Village website that gives residents an opportunity to share their views on the project.
HEG has been laying preliminary groundwork on the project with the county but doesn’t know yet when it will submit its plans for review. The company plans to develop the entire complex at once and estimates that it will take about 15 months to build.
Hall Equities Group is a private, family-run real estate investment, development, and property-management firm. Current and recent HEG development projects in Walnut Creek include Center Place South, bounded by Olympic, California Boulevard, and Botelho Way; the Arroyo apartment complex, near DMV; and Geary Marketplace, on the site of the long-abandoned Coop building near the intersection of Geary and North Main.
Community Meetings
The SCA is planning to hold one or more Community Meetings on the project once HEG has submitted its plans to the county, similar to those we held on the Sufism Reoriented and King Estate projects. Once the approval process begins, we’ll be tracking progress at our monthly board meetings and keeping the community updated on our website. The Saranap Village project will also be Topic A at our annual meeting in July.
Learn more about Saranap Village and see renderings of the proposed development on the project website.
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.
“This plan proposes to restore Boulevard Way from its current lifeless expanse of unfriendly asphalt pavement to a compatible and functional multifaceted and pedestrian-friendly street that creates a unique identity and quality environment for not only Saranap Village, but the entire community,” says developer Hall Equities Group on the project website. “The redevelopment of Saranap will replace the unfriendly environment and streetscape with a vibrant, attractive sense of place for a true livable village atmosphere.”
Key features of the proposed project include
- A “market hall” with spaces for independent, small-scale artisan sellers of fresh produce, meats, baked goods, and other food-oriented products, similar to the ones in Oakland’s Rockridge district and San Francisco’s Ferry Building
- Local retailers, such as a café, wine and cheese shop, and salon
- A family-oriented restaurant.
Other features include sidewalks, sidewalk seating and street furniture, three crosswalks, a “village monument sign” located on the market hall, and new street lighting, all intended to contribute to a “a safe, pedestrian-friendly street scene.”
“Traffic-Calming” Features
Boulevard Way in the project area would be narrowed from four lanes to two, with angled head-in parking on both sides of the street in the “village.” Additional parking would be available beneath and behind the stores.
Preliminary designs show two “traffic-calming” roundabouts, one near Flora Avenue, the other at the Saranap Avenue–Boulevard Way intersection. The latter, the larger of the two, would include a sculpture and/or fountain. A large valley oak tree now located in the parking lot of 1300 Boulevard Way would be replanted in the roundabout near Flora, just west of a “gateway entry arch” spanning the street.
Apartments and Condos
Current plans call for about 325 apartments and condos, ranging from five to seven stories, in three separate structures. Some of these would be for sale, some for rent. The number and configuration of these units could change, Hall Equities Group President and Chief Executive Officer Mark D. Hall told SCA board members at a May 2 orientation at the company’s downtown Walnut Creek offices. He noted that while the design of the project is continuing to evolve, one element the company is committed to is the market hall, which would be the retail cornerstone of the complex.
The project would be built on the site of the old La Rossa’s Market; the property at 1300 Boulevard Way currently occupied by Sufism Reoriented; the vacant lot across the street from 1300 Boulevard Way and the office building adjacent to it; and the parcel where the Sandpiper apartments now stand.
The project will raise property values throughout the area, HEG says.
“Almost Blight”
There exists “an almost blight condition in the portion of Saranap located along Boulevard Way,” the company says on the Saranap Village website.
“One reason for its poor current condition is a lack of any coordinated effort to assemble and properly design and implement a synergistic master plan and coordinated vision. Because of this, and the lack of any major reinvestment in this area over the course of many years, the area has continued to foster completely unrelated, independent uses that lack community-binding purpose and appeal, and thereby further contribute to its lack of appeal.”
Cash-strapped Contra Costa County can’t afford to fund extensive public infrastructure improvements associated with the project, provide capital investment, or even provide maintenance if it’s built. “Therefore, the substantial cost of providing such extensive and quality public infrastructure improvements has to be assumed by our project,” HEG says on the project website. Assuming these costs “creates the need for the project to achieve sufficient scale and size to be able to absorb the financial burdens these costs represent, including their ongoing maintenance.”
Seeking Community Input
HEG representatives have met with the boards of directors of the SCA and the Saranap Homeowners Organization and residents of the Boulevard Terrace condos, which lie at the heart of the proposed development. Residents of neighborhoods surrounding the complex were invited to open houses at the company’s downtown Walnut Creek offices. HEG has also met with owners of adjacent properties. The response, CEO Hall says, has generally been “very positive.”
At these meetings and open houses and on its website, HEG has been actively seeking community input on various aspects of the project, including basic design features. There’s a survey on the Saranap Village website that gives residents an opportunity to share their views on the project.
HEG has been laying preliminary groundwork on the project with the county but doesn’t know yet when it will submit its plans for review. The company plans to develop the entire complex at once and estimates that it will take about 15 months to build.
Hall Equities Group is a private, family-run real estate investment, development, and property-management firm. Current and recent HEG development projects in Walnut Creek include Center Place South, bounded by Olympic, California Boulevard, and Botelho Way; the Arroyo apartment complex, near DMV; and Geary Marketplace, on the site of the long-abandoned Coop building near the intersection of Geary and North Main.
Community Meetings
The SCA is planning to hold one or more Community Meetings on the project once HEG has submitted its plans to the county, similar to those we held on the Sufism Reoriented and King Estate projects. Once the approval process begins, we’ll be tracking progress at our monthly board meetings and keeping the community updated on our website. The Saranap Village project will also be Topic A at our annual meeting in July.
Learn more about Saranap Village and see renderings of the proposed development on the project website.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH Mark D. Hall, president and CEO of Hall Equities Group, discusses the proposed Saranap Village site plan with members of the SCA board of directors at a May 2 orientation at the firm's Walnut Creek offices.