A Walnut Creek-based developer wants to build a 114-unit residential care facility in a business park that isn’t zoned for that, and the City Council is scheduled on Tuesday to discuss whether a zoning change may be considered.
Hall Equities Group, who is also seeking to build an 18,000 seat soccer stadium in Concord, wants to redevelop a 9.5-acre commercial site within the Shadelands Business Park for not only the assisted living and memory care facility, but also a 300-unit multifamily residential complex for seniors.
That site currently hosts the Joint Genome Institute, operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Joint Genome Institute, according to a city report, plans to leave its five-building complex by Jan. 31.
The Shadelands park’s zoning, however, does not allow for residential uses. Hall Equities proposes a change to the park’s land use designation to allow residential uses in some circumstances.
The Shadelands park, established in the mid-1970s, has generally hosted office buildings and research facilities. But in 2014, the Walnut Creek City Council approved a rezone to accommodate the “Orchards at Walnut
Creek” shopping center on the southeast edge of Shadelands.
And in 2016, the council approved zoning changes to allow a “broader array of land uses” within Shadelands’ 246 acres.
The regular Walnut Creek City Council meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1666 North Main St.
30 comments
Just what Walnut Creek needs more housing! So they are going to build some modern ugly homes and stack a bunch of old people in there and charge them 10 times as much as it would be anywhere else and it’s going to be more traffic and more destruction of nature more pollution but hey more money for the overlords. And I understand business. the property owners probably gonna make a killing but do we need more people here? I’m tired of watching this area turn into a polluted ugly city landscape Devoid of nature. Whatever happened to families taking care of their own ?
Your ignorance and lack of compassion are shocking. You’ve obviously never had to deal with the issue of aging parents or relatives who need assisted living. Not everybody wants to move in with their kids, nor is everyone able to quit their jobs to take care of parents who need the care. You’re obviously still living in another century, or perhaps in another country where women don’t have jobs and live solely to take care of husbands, children, and the elderly.
BTW, there are typically very few personal cars in Assisted Living facilities (zero for the patients in Memory Care), and such residents tend to be quiet and law abiding. They don’t generate any more “pollution” than if they lived with their families. In fact, they might generate less due to use of a facility shuttle rather than having a family member drive them individually to every doctor’s appointment.
If you’re worried about whether or not such a facility is “modern ugly”, then take that up with the WC city council and their design requirements. That’s hardly an excuse to block desperately needed senior housing.
Wow Bill- hope you never get old! Our seniors are the forgotten group in our society and in desperate need of assitance. Many do not have families that are capable of caring for them 24/7. I would rather see a senior facility than Section 8 housing or more retail space.
Wow
Here we go again
City council bending over for campaign contributions and family business ventures for themselves at our expense
Well should not actually blame any of them because you voted to have a city council and give them absolute control lol
So get what you deserve a soccer stadium and naval land Debacle we spy for for years as well as your children while the city council memebers get life time be edits for ripping us off then going to the cc board and actually forcing us to pay for their campaigns by them granting g themselves raises every 2 years
This and many more projects will slap you in the wallet and mouth but you deserve what you get for your allowance of 5 people to have absolute power to rule over you
Oh then they brought in a 250 k a year city manager
And yet still we pay for panels and groups and committees and what ever else they want us too
You deserve every bit of the bums and filth and crime and taxes and horrible city maintenance and roads
As your children pay for city council benefits for life
I really hope the city approves this. It’s desperately needed.
The East Bay needs living wage jobs – not a wise idea to tear down existing business parks.
Also – more info is needed. It’s my understanding Hall Equities is involved in manufacturing pre-fab materials to build modular apartments. That’s why Mark Hall has included so much housing in his stadium proposal for downtown Concord, and its likely he wants to do the same for himself here.
In the past, the building trades had indicated pre-fab housing skirted city standards but I have no idea what its status is considered now. This is info that is needed. Cities should not be planning around how much Hall can make.
I’m all for helping seniors but I’m skeptical of this plan. As soon as I read that it’s the same bunch that wants to put a soccer stadium in Concord — I tuned out. Nope – I don’t trust them. Don’t want a soccer field in Concord or anything else this development group tries to push.
Businesses no longer use office buildings as they are allowing more and more of their employees to telecommute (or are leaving the bay area and state altogether). I’d rather see more housing built than office buildings sitting empty. We definitely do NOT need more commercial units either.
Obviously, we need a “Hall Monitor” as much as we need a Hall Equities Group. Long history of oversized redevelopment in WC and the country, and gaming the process to whatever degree they can.
I’m outspokenly critical of the HEG proposal in Concord for a number of reasons, but I don’t have any objection to this proposal. Apples and oranges though I suppose since I’m not a Walnut Creek resident and this isn’t public land Hall’s trying to build on.
At first glance, it sounds like he is hoping to build something practical and useful, unlike in Concord where he’s trying to build a ridiculous stadium for a minor league team (stadiums have never been built for USL teams) for his own private gain, so again, I’m having a hard time seeing the negative here.
Is there any known impropriety with City Council of Walnut Creek (significant campaign contributions or independent expenditures) that the public should be aware of? In Concord, the mayor has yet to recuse herself from HEG/soccer-stadium decisions despite politically benefiting herself to the tune of $49k from president of Hall Sports Ventures (Joe Garevantas).
I have long wondered about the Joint Genome Institute buildings. It’s three large buildings plus a storage building in the back. I have never seen that many cars in the parking lot though it’s clearly in use.
I believe that jobs rather than housing is better for the region. The JGI was a good employer in that the money came in from the outside (Federal government) and went into the pockets of local employees. I don’t know who owns the buildings but if Hall Group has plans then I assume they do and they are also local.
Aren’t they already building Senior Housing down the street from the Viamonte Senior Living Complex?
It might be nice building it next to the new building that ARF is building.
Mark Hall has too much money, and has too much power and influence over Walnut Creek and Concord. One person shouldn’t be allowed to own as many residential complexes as he currently does, let alone be allowed to make more. As a landlord, he has too much direct control over too many renters lives.
Allowing residential at Shadelands is an interesting idea that should be explored, but Walnut Creek should have an open bid process and look for another developer other than Hall Equities.
On the face of it, hard to object to building more senior facilities in the Shadelands. The elderly definitely don’t bring in more traffic and noise. Great spot for them too, near hospitals and walking distance to shopping. Not a fan of the developer since Hall Equities is behind the absolutely idiotic proposed soccer stadium in the downtown Concord area which will negatively impact bordering Walnut Creek areas. However, if the developer has a decent track record of building quality senior care residence, suppose these are two different issues.
There’s so many vacant buildings at Shadelands.
Contra costa times building, pg&e building, Aetna.
There is school or preschool there which doesn’t actually fit the whole light industrial model.
Even far-Left Liberals agree that California has a housing crisis. So, any proposal to build more units should be given a fair hearing. With all of the medical groups that have moved into the Shadelands, placing Senior and Assisted-Living units there makes a lot of sense.
California doesn’t have a housing crisis. It has a culture of speculation building for the highest profit coupled with lack of access for people of average income to get loans to purchase their own homes. Make sure the housing built is affordable and provides access to loans for people of average income in the area. Anyone interested can read the book Homewreckers – it details how average income people lost their homes in the economic downturn and many were sold to wealthy speculators – with government risk assistance – instead of keeping them affordable through assistance to the existing residents (after taxpayers bailed out the banks).
On the flip side, if you don’t keep living wage businesses in the area, you are creating an incredible grid lock nightmare. It’s not that the seniors will create traffic, it’s that the people who might be able to reverse commute to the Easy Bay will then be on the roads to all the jobs bunched up in the big cities. It’s poor planning to deny this is what happens and pretend we have adequate public transit.
Some benefits of this idea are:
– Less traffic: easy access to Shadelands healthcare, groceries, pharmacy, shopping means less traffic on Ygnacio Valley, Treat, and major thoroughfares. Some will be able to walk to shopping; perhaps a shuttle could take them to/from shopping, reducing traffic; or stores could easily deliver to them without getting out on the major arteries. They can have easy access to health care too, and as they age, prevent accidents by not getting out on the major roads.
Exercise: there would be easy access to the Iron Horse trail and sidewalks within Shadelands for walking and other exercise, as well as the area behind Safeway.
Arf: this might provide more volunteers to help out Arf, and to entertain the seniors.
Stores: this might boost patronage at the shops and restaurants in the shopping centers near there.
Community Center for the Arts: Seniors would have easy access to the Community Center for the Arts to remain active, taking classes, which in turn promotes better health.
Community Garden access: there is a community garden in Shadelands, and perhaps another could be started for the seniors to remain active, and to grow plants which in turn improve the air quality, and their own health.
Nearby options for our aging parents: As our parents age, finding nearby affordable housing for them where we can be close enough to assist them is desirable.
Bus routes: there are already bus routes going through Shadelands, so they can have access without adding new routes, and thereby reducing traffic.
Oh good lord…right in between my daughters school – Contra Costa School of Performing Arts and ARF! (Mitchell Dr.)
They have already had some traffic collisions with injuries along there.
From what I hear, SPA is a disaster, probably won’t be around for long. Hi
As a former tenant of TWO of Hall Equities (formerly known as Merle D. Hall Company) who “just happened” to change their name after the news media publically labeled them as “SLUMLORDS” I hope to god that the city does NOT permit Mark Hall to build YET ANOTHER one of his dumpy ass poorly managed buildings. Any other CREDIBLE developer yes.. but Hall Equities/Merle D. Hall are SLUMLORDS and don’t properly care for their buildings nor give a rats ass about their tenants…. they only want their rent money.
Merle Hall lost my respect when he sidled up to Dave Linzey, tried to buy land together in Antioch for the now defunct Antioch Charter Tech Academy. Makes one wonder where they planned on getting the money!
The bay area doesn’t have a housing crisis. It has a capacity and infrastructure crisis.
There are seniors who want to stay in WC and be near hospitals and shopping etc. However, will they be near their families?
They will choose housing near the grandchildren, and that likely is not near Walnut Creek.
I would like to see more housing for seniors. I live on a small social security check. I am 100% disable. Hope it will have affordable hosing. Would love to have a place to live with other seniors. Would love to go to the meeting.
Accursed and pathetic.
C’mon Halls you can do better. Sport.
I can see in my crystal ball that just like Rossmoor and near any Senior housing, perhaps less traffic but definitely more Ambulances and medical vehicles with sirens. I’m a senior and crazy as it is, I actually agree with
Bill Cutting.
I grew up on the Peninsula which was so beautiful, almost country like cities; however, it looks NOTHING like it once did. Along El Camino from San Bruno to Menlo Park, it’s no longer lined with huge trees…. instead it is now lined with huge ugly high rises, with parking structures. Those little quaint towns were once beautiful country like…now just a cement strip.
Let’s not do this to our jewel, Walnut Creek…. or at least wait until I’m gone!
here we go housing crisis
so just where do you think all the 15 million -22 million illegals are living
YES YOU GUESSED IT …in all the low income housing
hmmm we seem to have a huge increase in American citizens who cant find a place to live since the state has decided to house illegals in all the low income housing leaving americans to the streets
so stop the bell cow trumpet for the housing crisis that politicians created here
you should be outraged that Americans are on the streets while illegals take their spots not only in housing but welfare and medical and dental
there is no housing crisis just illegals filling them up and making babies on top of babies and we footing the bill ….
housing crisis ….lol why do you think a soccer stadium is being built and not a baseball or football minor league stadium …
yeah keep your blinders on its almost over ….
still no dem has an answer to that question …where are the illegals staying
on the streets ?
The fact that this involves the same folk who want to put the soccer stadium in downtown Concord would make me say no to this.
The senior housing market is growing for a couple of reasons; baby boomers are retiring enmasse, and the average age in America is increasing. Birth rates in most states are declining to less than sustainable, except for California which has a 50+% non-native population. BTW sustainable birthrate is given as 2.4 offspring. Europe is undergoing the same decline.
Random It’s LEGAL immigration that is really hurting us I agree all the illegals should be rounded up and shipped home at their countries expense. That would definitely help but to really turn around the country we have to stop all immigration at this point. “Seats taken can’t sit here”. Forrest Gump quote. Get rid of the illegals stop Legal immigration ( start a program to incentivize disgruntled immigrants being paid to go home if they don’t like it here) housing prices will drop it’s called supply and demand people…. pretty rudimentary. I know that these liberals have a hard time with math and understanding resource allocation. Btw Rico they have some good soy split pea soup for sale at Whole Foods I think you would be interested in…..
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