Affordable apartments near BART approved

HAYWARD — Each of the 140 apartments in a proposed five-story building that has won approval for Mission Boulevard near the South Hayward BART station will be designated as affordable, a move that city officials are welcoming as a step toward easing the Bay Area’s housing crisis.

Known as the Hayward Mission Family Apartments, the building will have a day care center and a business on the ground floor.

The 2.21-acre infill site in the 2900 block of Mission Boulevard is currently vacant. Nine older trees protected under a city ordinance will need to removed for the construction and will be replaced with 8 street trees, 29 parking lot trees and 28 additional trees throughout the property.

The five-story building will have one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and will be constructed in a “U” shape around a common courtyard. The apartments will range from 505 to 999 square feet.

Other features will include a designated area where residents can wait for a ride-sharing or carpool service such as Uber or Lyft, a 670-square-foot roof deck and an outdoor space with a movie wall, tot lot and playground.

“I think this is the size and scale of a project that we need more of along the transit corridors of the East Bay,” Hayward Planning Commissioner Gary Patton said Oct. 10, when the commission unanimously cleared the way for the building to go forward.

How much the apartments will rent for was not available.

So far, a tenant for the 1,800-square-foot commercial space on the ground floor has not been identified, according to Marcus Martinez, an associate planner with the city. But the space will be equipped with a grease trap to allow the option of having a cafe or restaurant and not just a shop, Martinez said.

Ross Ferrera with Meta Housing Corporation, of Los Angeles, which is funding the project through state programs that promote tax credits and other financing for low income housing, told commissioners that the company is negotiating with a person in Hayward on possibly operating the 2,700-square-foot day care center.

Nothing has been finalized, however.

“In our development, we have a long time frame and lead time, so they will have about two years to get that project up and started,” Ferrera said.

The site will have 101 parking spaces for cars and four for motorcycles, despite the building have 140 apartments.

Ferrera said fewer parking spots will be needed because the building will give preference to tenants who indicate that they will not be using a car.

There will be 18 parking spots set aside for the day care center and business. A room for storing and fixing bicycles will have 73 parking spaces for bikes, and an additional 16 short-term bike spaces will be along Mission Boulevard.

The building will be about a half-mile south from the South Hayward BART station.

Commissioner Angela Andrews said she wished the project featured public art.

“It would be great to have some kind of iconic image or something done by a local (artist) that can be seen on Mission Boulevard, which is a very important street for us,” Andrews said.

But she also welcomed the housing development.

“I hope to see more projects like this come to Hayward,” she said. “And I hope the city toots its own horn for bringing projects like this to the commission.”