San Leandro Focus

A new 687-unit apartment complex planned for 899 Alvarado Street came before the San Leandro Planning and Board of Zoning Adjustments Commission for review last night. The Commissioners unanimously approved 899 Alvarado, which is a short walk to the San Leandro BART station and constitutes the city's largest transit oriented housing development ever. The 899 Alvarado project consists of the largest remaining (mainly) vacant property in Downtown San Leandro. It is behind the FH Dailey car dealership on Davis Street and bound on the west by the Union Pacific Railroad track and on the east by an office building owned by Wells Fargo. This project is precisely why the City adopted a Transit Oriented Development Strategy in 2007 to promote walking, biking and use of public transit in our downtown. 899 Alvarado complies with the city zoning code on density, height and parking requirements. Only one person spoke in opposition, an attorney representing four building trades unions

There is a new 687-unit apartment complex planned for 899 Alvarado Street that I believe our community should support. The 899 Alvarado project is coming before a City Commission for review and approval on Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at San Leandro City Hall. Let me start with a point we can all agree upon: San Leandro should be a great city in which to raise a family. When our children go off to college or a career, we want them one day to consider moving back to San Leandro  to raise their families. This requires market-rate housing that’s affordable for young adults. At the same time, part of what has always made San Leandro special are our residential neighborhoods. While we need new housing, developers should not be permitted to build large, dense apartment complexes in residential neighborhoods that violate our zoning code.  Instead, such projects should be built within close proximity to the BART stations. Doing so preserves our residential neighborhoods and creates