A planned senior residential community in Warm Springs, called “Parc 55,” received unanimous Fremont City Council approval Tuesday.
Proposed by John Wong, of East Warren Park LLC, the development calls for almost 500 housing units to serve ages 55 and older, and a 15,000-square-foot senior community center. The project will occupy nearly 24 acres at 47003 to 47320 Mission Falls Court and 47323 to 47339 Warm Springs Boulevard.
Parc 55, to be located about 1,000 feet east of Interstate 880 near Warren Avenue, will feature five separate, but interconnected villages, each containing a different type of housing product. The project will include stacked and garden-style rental apartments, condominiums, townhomes and for-sale single-family cottages, city staff reports state.
Of the 497 senior housing units, 90 would be offered to rent to low, very-low and extremely-low income households who earn between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income. Speaking on behalf of Wong, Tom Quaglia said the market for seniors is “highly underserved.”
Hayward-based Eden Housing will build the below-market rate units on 2.3 acres of the 23.5-acre site. The project will offer about 75 one-bedroom units and about 15 two-bedroom units, city staff reports state.
Linda Mandolini, Eden Housing president, said the nonprofit currently owns 190 senior apartments in Fremont with a wait list of nearly 800.
“So, another 90 homes for seniors that are affordable is absolutely, really critical,” she said.
Fremont residents who spoke in favor of the project said Parc 55 addresses a need in the city for off-price housing, senior units and a community center for seniors in Warm Springs.
A resident for 44 years, Ted Bressler said Wong has a legacy of “excellence in residential development in the city of Fremont.
“This proposal would continue that tradition,” he said.
Gail Jones said she was pleased with the 90 below-market rate units, but expressed concerns about air quality and the health of seniors due to the proximity of the proposed project site to Interstate 880.
Later, Quaglia said there are no major air quality issues.
The proposal is a “better project now” than earlier versions, particularly after inclusion of the senior community center, Mayor Bill Harrison said
At the moment, the property, comprised of five separate parcels, is surrounded by light industrial office uses to the north, light industrial and institutional uses to the south, light industrial and institutional uses with residential uses across Warm Springs Boulevard to the east and Union Pacific Railroad and Bay Area Rapid Transit tracks with industrial uses to the west.
The community center will be built as part of the first phase of the project and dedicated to the city upon completion. Also, the developer agreed to pay the city a total of $2.9 million, spread across 10 years, to cover 40 percent of the estimated operational and maintenance costs of the facility as part of a development agreement.
Additionally, the developer will install a traffic signal at Mission Falls Lane and Warm Springs Boulevard and new segments of a public sidewalk along the west side of Warm Springs Boulevard.
In a separate item, the council unanimously approved a $7.4 million loan to Eden Housing for development of the apartments. The loan is $6.8 million in city affordable housing funds and $437,000 in Federal HOME program monies.
Contact Julian J. Ramos at ramos@themilpitaspost.com or 408-262-2454 or follow him on twitter.com/julianjramosmp. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/FremontBulletin and twitter.com/FremontBulletin.
