WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA — Downtown Walnut Creek’s skyline could soon look dramatically different.
The Walnut Creek Planning Commission has unanimously approved an eight-story mixed-use development that would bring 104 rental homes and more than 8,000 square feet of retail space to 1532 Mt. Diablo Boulevard.
At approximately 89 feet to the top of its parapet — and roughly 95 feet including rooftop equipment — the building would become the tallest structure in Walnut Creek’s commercial corridor.
The project, proposed by Bay Area developer Align Real Estate, would replace a surface parking lot, an unused auto body shop and an outdoor dining platform near the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and Commercial Lane.
It is one of downtown Walnut Creek’s most prominent remaining redevelopment sites, surrounded by restaurants, shopping and entertainment and located a relatively short distance from the Walnut Creek BART station.
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More Than 100 New Downtown Homes
The approximately 111,000-square-foot project would include 104 apartments above 8,483 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
Fourteen of the apartments would be designated as affordable housing. Nine would be reserved for very-low-income households and five for moderate-income households. The remaining 90 units would be rented at market rates.
Residents would have access to a 1,675-square-foot fitness center and an approximately 2,425-square-foot outdoor terrace on the eighth floor. Plans also call for a public walkway with seating, shade, landscaping and a water-refill station along the western side of the property.
Perry Architects designed the current version of the building, using light- and medium-gray brick, recessed windows, wood-grain accents and setbacks intended to break up its considerable size.
The eighth floor was pulled back from the Mt. Diablo Boulevard frontage after Walnut Creek’s Design Review Commission raised concerns about the building’s scale. That redesign replaced part of the upper floor with the outdoor terrace and reduced the apartment count from 106 to 104.
Why the Building Can Rise So High
Existing city standards would ordinarily permit a maximum height of 50 feet on the site. The approved building would stand nearly 40 feet taller.
That increase is possible largely because of California’s Density Bonus Law, which gives developers additional units and relief from certain local development standards when they include qualifying affordable housing.
City staff calculated that a code-compliant project could contain 60 apartments. By including nine very-low-income and five moderate-income units, the developer qualified for a cumulative 77.5% density bonus and permission to build as many as 107 units.
The developer ultimately proposed 104.
The project also received waivers or concessions covering its height, setbacks, private open space, parking, passenger-loading area and portions of the ground-floor retail ceiling.
Planning commissioners acknowledged that a building of this scale will represent a substantial change for downtown Walnut Creek.
“I think people are rightly going to say this is big, and it might take some getting used to,” Commissioner Brendan Moran reportedly said before the vote.
Still, Moran said the city could not “let perfect be the enemy of good, especially when we have an opportunity to put housing downtown where it belongs.”
Parking Will Be Limited
One of the project’s biggest potential points of contention is parking.
Despite containing 104 apartments, the building would have only 49 vehicle spaces in a two-level underground garage. Those spaces would be reserved for residents and rented separately from the apartments rather than automatically included with each unit.
No on-site parking would be provided for the ground-floor retail space. Customers would instead use surrounding public and private parking options.
Plans also include 32 bicycle spaces and transportation programs intended to reduce car dependence.
Commissioners questioned whether that approach will work in a suburban city where many households still own vehicles. The developer’s representative argued that some people specifically choose downtown apartments because they can walk, bicycle or use public transportation — and that separating parking from rent prevents car-free residents from paying for spaces they do not use.
A Much Bigger Plan Than Before
Redevelopment of the property has been discussed for years, but the scale has changed substantially.
An earlier version approved during the previous development process called for a four-story building with 30 condominiums, commercial space and considerably more parking. It was envisioned as the first portion of a larger two-parcel project extending toward Locust Street.
The newly approved proposal covers only the 0.41-acre property at 1532 Mt. Diablo Boulevard but places more than three times as many homes on that parcel.
Planning Commission approval clears a significant entitlement hurdle. However, it does not mean construction will begin immediately. The developer must still complete its affordable-housing agreement, secure building and site-development permits and satisfy the city’s conditions of approval.
No construction start date, completion date or estimated project cost has been announced.
