BART Picks Brookfield for Concord Mixed-Use Project

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CONCORD, CA—Alameda and Contra Costa counties recorded the largest asking rate increases of 4.8% year-over-year and 3.3% year-over-year, respectively, in the second quarter. This region has been on the upswing with demand drivers such as new apartments along transportation, a growing professional workforce and experiential retail concepts, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

A visible example of these drivers is an upcoming project at the North Concord/Martinez BART station. BART has selected the Brookfield Residential team as the developer of one of its larger land holdings at that station.

At a recent meeting, the BART board of directors unanimously chose to begin exclusive negotiations with Brookfield Residential to create a mixed-use infill development on approximately 20 acres BART owns at the station. The general outline of the preliminary community plan includes 360 residential units in a mix of affordable and market rate, 800,000 square feet of commercial and office space, and a multi-modal transit plaza with patron drop-off/pick-up area, taxi loading zone and ADA parking.

Currently, BART’s property adjacent to the North Concord/Martinez BART station consists of a bus station and surface parking for approximately 1,977 cars. When completed, the new development will provide much-needed housing for Concord and the East Bay, as well as commercial and creative office space to help alleviate some residents’ commutes to San Francisco and Oakland.

In addition to the 20-acre North Concord/Martinez BART station, the anticipated specific plan includes a 2,248-acre portion of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station Inland Area and the approximately 59-acre Coast Guard housing complex.

“The East Bay and Concord specifically will continue to thrive by bringing new housing, jobs and infrastructure where they are needed most, with a thoughtfully planned mix of uses near transportation,” said Josh Roden, Brookfield Residential president. “The region is especially underserved by housing. We look forward to working with BART and the city of Concord to create a place that helps solve issues of affordability and long commutes in an attractive, successful community plan.”

BART awarded the development agreement to the Brookfield Residential team based on its strong local development team, 20% commitment to small business participation; extensive experience with multiple public agencies and large, multi-phased projects; financial strength including an ability to fund pre-development expenses, and a history of working with adjacent developers to finance infrastructure.

This project highlights the need for office and housing in redevelopments near key transit stations due to the increasing traffic load in the Bay Area, Roden says.

“It presents more of an opportunity to solve a need that has been primarily focused on the core Bay Area markets of Oakland, Silicon Valley, San Francisco/Peninsula where prices and costs have created challenges for some businesses to exist in the Bay Area,” Roden tells GlobeSt.com. “As the market in the core Bay Area continues to accelerate in rents both on the commercial and residential side, mixed-use transit centers like North Concord provide an attainable solution to stay here in the Bay Area. And, traffic is tough in the Bay Area. Employers and employees are seeking more commuter-friendly locations.”

Large companies in the core Bay Area with private bus shuttles gathering employees from communities such as Concord are beginning to realize a satellite or regional office solution in that type of location will be more financially feasible and preferred by employees, Roden says. For example, large office campuses such as Bishop Ranch are finding a growing number of Silicon Valley or San Francisco-based companies opening up offices to provide accommodations closer to where a large number of their employees live, reducing travel times and improving quality of life, he points out.

“With 800,000 square feet of potential office at the North Concord BART, we’d love to see both public and private organizations embrace the Plan Bay Area’s 2040 plan and seize an opportunity to bring jobs closer to their employees while saving on office rents or ownership costs,” Roden tells GlobeSt.com. “There is also a growing shift in demand by the Millennials to seek more affordable living situations as household formation continues to accelerate. It’s not preferred to double, triple or quadruple up in an apartment unit when you start a family. That’s why we see a lot of late 20s or 30-year-olds leaving the core Bay Area to find alternatives that are often out of state. Fortunately, the governor and other leaders in our cities and state recognize this and are making improvements in reducing the barriers to development in TOD corridors.”

Roden says there are several mixed-use elements being included in these types of developments to provide residents with community engagement and quality of life.

“Mixed-use developments are creating more engaging public plazas or open space areas that are often authentic to the location,” Roden tells GlobeSt.com. “And including more soft programming with funding mechanisms to ensure long-term viability that encourage activities for employees or residents such as regular coffee meet and greets, movies in the plaza, art/craft fairs, and other leisure activities that create a reason for people to come out and enjoy their local community together. Also, employers are recognizing that having an office located next to residential, retail, cultural and other amenities helps create a more desirable workplace environment while also enhancing creativity and collaboration.”

The Brookfield Residential team includes The Core Companies, which will build the affordable housing component. The firm has developed more than 400 homes, townhomes and condominiums, as well as 2,300 apartment units in the Bay Area.

“It is crucial to the health of the community that housing remains attainable. The affordable housing at the heart of this plan will be walkable to BART transportation so that residents of all incomes not only have high-quality housing but are within reach of employment opportunities,” said Vince Cantore, vice president of The Core Companies.