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A stairway leading to nowhere was all that was left of Barone’s Restaurant in downtown Pleasanton last Tuesday as demolition had begun for the redevelopment project set to bring in over a dozen new homes and a commercial space.
The city issued the demolition permit on Aug. 26 for the restaurant building and four accessory structures on site, which had all been mostly torn down early last week, according to Pleasanton’s communications manager Heather Tiernan.
The redevelopment project, which the City Council approved during its Jan. 9 meeting, consists of 14 new detached two-and-a-half-story, single-family homes; two single-story retail or commercial buildings with a plaza and a 13-stall parking lot all across the 2.3-acre project site at 475 and 493 St. John St.
The two commercial buildings would total approximately 3,125 square feet in area combined and the plaza would be about 1,568 square feet.
Tiernan said the next step in the redevelopment process is for the project applicant — San Jose-based Robson Homes LLC — to submit plans for the homes and undergo the review process.
She added that the retaining walls, onsite grading permits and temporary power are all currently under review by the city but construction of the new homes might still be several months out as the review process typically takes four to six months. She said the city does not yet have information on the commercial space.
As for traffic on St. John Street during the construction work, Tiernan said the city’s traffic engineers have received some mitigation plans for the area but so far they were mainly related to utilities and not the roadway.
“There will be more information available as the process continues,” Tiernan said.
The Weekly’s request for comment from Robson Homes regarding the redevelopment project was not returned as of Monday night.
The Barone family initially announced their intent to shut down early in 2021.
Following their announcement, the restaurant shuttered in December 2022 after nearly 30 years of service due to several reasons, including impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barone’s temporarily reopened in August 2023 as a pared down concept with appetizers, finger foods, cocktails and entertainment three nights a week, as well as private event rentals, before ultimately shutting down for good in October 2024.
