Lennar Urban: Alameda Point Proposal (3 of 5)
Initial Reactions: Pro: Lennar has a ton of experience in Bay Area military base conversion projects. Mare Island (Vallejo), Hunters Point (SF), Windermere (San Ramon), and Treasure Island (SF) are all under way. Lennar is making a lot of money converting old bases to new uses.
Cons: Lennar has a lot of Bay Area Military base conversion project underway. As finances become tight, or other hurdles/reasons arise, this late starting project could easily sit on hold as they wait to see what happens in the market for land in the Bay Area. Like previous reviewed proposals, the Lennar proposal leaves a lot to the imagination in terms of what they propose for Alameda Point. Again, they weren’t asked for vision, but it would have been nice.
Going beyond the platitudes lobbed by the other developers at the city’s Preliminary Development Concept, Lennar writes “The PDC outlines an exciting vision for Alameda Point. Lennar ould seek to work with the city and community to refine and implement this vision.” Since the PDC was imperfect enough that the city council added language that pointedly made sure no one thought it was an actual plan, this language jumps out as being a bit unaware of the work ahead.
That said my favorite part of their vision statement is that the Point “must be designed to reduce congestion and encourage transit use and the project must incorporate the best practices of sustainability.” With this statement, they definitely capture a key aspect of the decades long planning process, from BRAG to PDC, and depending on what the specifics pan out to be, certainly seem to understand what’s needed.
And that should be of little surprise, since their project team boasts both Stephen Proud, who worked on the Alameda Point Project for the city as a staff member in Development Services and Fehr & Peers who continue to work with the city as a transportation consultant for both Alameda Point and Alameda Landing.
Anyone familiar with Mare Island would be a little concerned about the plans for Alameda Point. A multi-use development that distinctly separates each use from the other (retail is not integrated into the housing etc.). It’s so….so….Vallejo? On the other hand, Treasure Island is shaping up to be a unique and exciting development in the middle of the Bay, not that the design would be appropriate for Alameda Point, Lennar’s ability to handle a unique location with truly unique traffic worries and less options than Alameda does speak well for them.
There’s no doubt that this proposal spells out an ability to carry out the needed process for redeveloping the point. The question will be, where in the hierarchy of things will Alameda Point fall for such a large company and will the Point become just bet that’s hedged against what the future brings. Though I’m sure that Lennar will cut Alameda a great deal since they’ve already made so much money from the other conversions they are doing (right?).
Lennar would worry me for the same reason, too many military base conversion projects going on. With Alameda being what it is, I can see Alameda Pointe sitting if something comes up. Also, I recently visited Mare Island and didn’t like what was going on there at all.
Ben,
Dave from Lauren’s blog would ask, wasn’t Mare Island enough like Emeryville? I’ll just ask what you didn’t like there? I’ve been wanting to drive up there to see first hand too.
First, Mare Island is difficult to get to. Once off the freeway, it feels like you are driving for 15 minutes. Then the road and infrastructure aren’t complete and you can’t even tell how they will be completed once you make it onto the Island. Then they use a mixed grid road system. So you go from arc’s back to a grid to something else, it varies from developer to developer. There is no master plan to see how the Island is supposed to look, at least not on display anywhere. Each little developer only sees their own little development. I am not going to even touch on the extremely high price of the homes/condos and the astronomical HOA dues. Also, the shopping is not mixed into the developments, it is “planned” for the center of the Island which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does promote using your car instead of walking. Additionally they have a segregated type of community. They want the really expensive homes separate from the condos and reasonably expensive homes. I prefer the low income and moderate income homes blended together ala Bayport. It just didn’t feel like a cohesive development.
I actually think it is worth the drive up to check it out, it was worth the visit.
Mare Island was a disappointment. Although perhaps it is what the residents of Vallejo wanted. It mirrors a pretty typical suburban development with retail concentrated in one area and housing in another. It was shaping up to be an extremely car dependent community. While homes were already going up and residents moving in, the infrastructure was still pretty tore up. Bad roads, etc… Plus Mare Island is really hard to get on and off, but the views are stunning.
After we left, the one thing we took away from it was, hey, Mare Island would make a great retirement community. Water access, golf courses…you could get a golf cart to putter around the island with, but it would be hard to live there if you had to commute even though there is (or will be) ferry access.
If the city of Alameda is seriously considering Lennar Corporation as a leader for the Naval Air Station project, they need to do a bit of research about Lennar’s track record. Spend some time on http://www.DefectiveHomes.org and read about how Lennar turns the American Dream into the American Nightmare for thousands of homeowners throughout the country, including California.
Senator Elizabeth Dole said it best when she was on the Federal Trade Commission: ” . . . for too many Americans, the dream home has turned into a nightmare. You know as well as I do that as families move into their own little Garden of Eden, more and more are finding the apple full of worms. As a result, some homebuyers believe they are being bilked for thousands of dollars, and they are expressing not only anguish but outrage. Shoddy building practices can be concealed from many purchasers who cannot be expected to have the technical expertise to evaluate the structural soundness of a home or the quality of electrical, plumbing, or air conditioning systems…The patience of the American consumer is rapidly running out. . . . Consumers are demanding more protection from the government, not LESS. The consumer movement is no longer made up of small bands of activists with no troops standing behind them; the consumer movement is now part of our culture – it embraces every one of us. And it will not be denied over an issue so fundamental as decent housing . . .”
This statement was made in 1979, but nothing has changed. If anything, with the raging housing boom, and the inability of local inspectors to keep up with inspections, this problem has become a national virus, and Lennar is the poster child for defective homes.
If the city does select Lennar, they will need to implement a very aggressive inspection policy throughout the entire construction phase, not just final inspections, when the worst defects are already covered up with walls and roofs.
One of the most egregious examples of Lennar callous disregard for the American Homeowner was the electrocution of a man in a new Lennar home that recently received a clean inspection. Now the widow and her children are involved in a lawsuit with Lennar, and Lennar is not accepting responsibility. The lawsuit details can be found at http://www.DefectiveHomes.org
Too much construction in Windemere. Far from downtown or major shopping centers. Almost in the middle of nowhere. Little diversity mostly consisting of White and Asian races. Too little trees to offer much shade. Neighborhood is snobby and neighbors mostly hang out at home or do not talk to other neighbors. Try Walnut Creek for a better community feel.