Walnut Creek BART transit village project moves forward

WALNUT CREEK -- After eight years of wrangling, the City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to move the BART Transit Village apartment-and-retail project toward its first construction phase.

The major hurdles passed Tuesday were the certification of a final environmental impact report, amendments to the city's general plan and zoning and approval of a tree removal permit, which are all needed to begin construction.

The project has undergone many revisions since it was first brought before the council in 2005. By 2009, its future was in doubt as the bad economy forced developers to put plans on hold.

Walnut Creek Transit Lifestyles Associates, a joint venture of developer Transit Village Associates and BRE Properties, is looking forward to starting Phase I.

"It's been a long road -- we're excited about going forward," said Frank Arthur of Transit Village Associates. "We hope to start construction within a year."

The council still must have a public reading of the zoning amendment, scheduled for Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.

Because the proposed mixed-use development will be built on top of the existing parking lot, Lifestyles Associates will be required to build a new BART parking structure that includes BART Police offices and a bus facility on the ground floor. This will be done during Phase I.

A sticking point of negotiations was whether the developer could be required to provide additional parking spaces, not just replace

Developers plan to build 596 apartments and up to 12,000 square feet of commercial space during Phase II, along with a separate underground parking structure for apartment residents and patrons of the businesses.

In Phase III, estimated to start in 2014, 238 more residential units and 26,700 square feet of mixed residential and commercial space is planned along the eastern side. More underground parking stalls for the two new buildings would be included.

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Walnut Creek BART transit village project moves forward