HAYWARD — The construction of 59 townhouses on a grassy hillside with sweeping city views moved closer to happening last week when the Planning Commission backed the proposal, an action that sends it to the City Council.
The Grupe Company of Stockton plans to build the townhouses just south of the new Tennyson Road extension between Mission Boulevard and Vista Grande Drive.
The townhouses would be built in the middle of an approximately 17-acre parcel — once a source of soil for the La Vista quarry — and be surrounded by open space.
“This is a phenomenal piece of property,” Kyle Masters of The Grupe Company told commissioners. “You would be hard pressed to find a project surrounded by open space on all sides that has these beautiful views of your city.”
The City Council is set to consider the project Oct. 16. If it approves the housing, construction could begin by spring next year with the first townhouses occupied within two years, Masters said.
The townhouses are expected to sell in the $700,000 to $800,000 range, he said.
Each townhouse would be three stories tall, have three or four bedrooms and range from 1,871 to 1,962 square feet. Each would have a two-car garage.
The development will have private streets that a homeowner association would maintain, with 21 parking spots for guests.
Walking paths will cut through the open areas, where amenities would include a bicycle “fix it” station and dog washing stations, as well as a bocce ball court.
“The project offers a unique housing opportunity in South Hayward and will mix well with the existing housing stock that is currently in the immediate neighborhood,” said City Planner Damon Golubics, who noted the development is near the South Hayward BART station.
None of the townhouses will be designated as affordable. Instead, the developer has opted under Hayward’s affordable housing ordinance to pay an “in-lieu” fee of $9.09 per square foot of habitable space.
The Hayward Fault lies east of the project site, which is also near several unnamed fault traces.
The developer has put the proposed houses outside of the seismic areas, however, and on the most stable soils identified at the site, Golubics said
The development borders the future La Vista Park and is also near the La Vista development, where so far about half of the 179 houses planned have been constructed, according to the city.