News
Citizens Back Hercules (Bless Our Soul)
October 4, 2012
| Sure, not every master-planned project requires you to strong arm the locals—but how about one on the few remaining developable,waterside parcels in the Greater Bay Area? It wasn't the case in Hercules, where Anderson Pacific plans to break ground next year on Hercules Bayfront. |
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| Recently, we chatted with EVP Ryan Altoon (yep, his dad is the well-known architect Ron), who tells us polling done by the city found an 87% approval rating for the project, a 42-acre mixed-use TOD. (Somehow Ron Paul got 2%.) He says that in Anderson Pacific?s 25 years entitling complex developments, the company has engaged communities to understand their goals and what makes them tick. "In doing so, we've made them champions of our project in each and every case." |
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| According to Ryan, Hercules Bayfront will be built on the former site of the Hercules Powder Co, which supplied munitions during the Gold Rush. ?This was a company town.? (As the rendering shows, everyone lost their faces. We're guessing eraser accident?) The project is slated next to the city's recently funded intermodal transit center—one of the first of its kind, combining ferry, train, and bus service in one terminal. Anderson Pacific and its partner Oso Trabuco LLC plan a 10-year buildout for the multi-phased project, envisioned as two multifamily communities along the waterfront connected by a vibrant, mixed-use downtown. It'll encompass more than 1,300 residential units and over 300k SF of commercial space: retail, office, and flex. |
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| The project is the last of a 250-acre parcel that was part of a charrette in 2000, and the entire community has been shaped by New Urbanism principles. One of the LEED-ND (neighborhood development) pilot projects, it was awarded Stage 1 Gold status and is set to achieve Stage 2 Gold status. In addition, he notesthe plan has development flexibility to match market demand. Ryan?s free time is spent with family: wife Laurice, daughter Lily (1) and son Andrew (3). |
