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Next month, work will begin on constructing pedestrian walkways on the Pleasanton and Dublin sides of the new BART station as the project continues on pace for a late 2009 opening. But development on apartments, retail shops and a hotel all walking distance to the rail station has stalled.
“We’re on hold right now until the capital markets loosen up and we’re able to secure some adequate construction financing,” said Eric Heffner, vice president of Windstar Communities.
La Jolla-based Windstar received approval from the City Council in September for a 350-unit apartment complex adjacent to the rail station and parking structure on Stoneridge Mall Road and had planned to complete construction to coincide with the new station opening.
The transit-oriented development was planned to have mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments where residents are close enough to access BART on foot. The plan includes 70 affordable apartments for low- to very-low-income tenants with rents for those designated as affordable starting at $861 for a one-bedroom.
Plans for the four-story buildings call for ground-floor retail, including space for a smaller, urban grocery store that would serve apartment dwellers and nearby Hacienda Business Park workers.
Windstar also has approval for a 210-unit apartment building and office space on the Dublin side off Golden Gate Drive, now also on hold. Plans on the Dublin side had previously envisioned a hotel, but Heffner said that may not be a viable market option any longer.
“There’s no marketplace to build a hotel now that they’re in a slump industry-wide,” Heffner said. “Until the economy picks up, there’s little demand for a hotel site.”
The West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station, which will soon break up a 10-mile gap between the Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton stations, will be the 44th in the transit system. Riders will board trains via the pedestrian bridges that lead to the median on Interstate 580.
BART spokeswoman Luna Salaver said the $80-million price tag is already funded, with one-quarter of the financing coming from private partnerships, $50 million from BART revenue and $15 million from local and state funding.
She declined to give a specific opening timeframe for the station, saying completion is dependent on when the pedestrian walkways are finished.
Why is this BART station taking so long to build? They are almost done with the Oracle building that started about the same time, yet is 10 times as big as the BART station.
Not long ago I played golf with an Iron Worker from out of state that’s working on the project and he said the beams delivered for the overpass were, in his words, “wrong and wouldn’t fit” due to engineering. Seems they were waiting for new beams to be delivered and he didn’t have anything to do but play golf… Said he was still on the payroll while waiting…
That’s probably not why the project isn’t finished but I thought it was interesting…
that must be nice, huh jerry? i wish i could not work and make money.who pays for this again?…………oh yea our taxes have been paying for this for almost 15 years. i like to take bart to the city, to games, ect. but is it worth it. they can’t complete a job they’ve been collecting money on for years. they are raising rates. and making it very easy to go in my back yard, ( yes muirwood/ highland oaks), and break into my car with and easy escape route. people have to be overjoyed by this. worsening our community and costing us (over the years) tons of money. thanks bart!!