SAN LEANDRO — Six townhouses are planned for Marina Boulevard across from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Leandro and about a half-mile from the San Leandro BART station.
The condominium complex will replace a single house at 342 Marina Blvd.
Each townhouse will have three to five bedrooms. Each also will have a two-car garage, plus three parking spots will be available for visitors at the rear of the 12,000 square-foot property. In all, 15 off-street parking spaces will be provided.
The City Council voted unanimously Oct. 15 to adopt a tentative map for the six-site subdivision and for other steps so that the project can move forward.
The council’s action followed the Planning Commission supporting the townhouses Aug. 16, when some nearby residents said it would increase the demand for parking in the neighborhood and cause more traffic on Marina Boulevard.
Just when the townhouses might get built was not available.
“We hope to see it up by the end of the year, right?” Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter joked with architect Gordon Wong of GKW Architects, which is designing the homes.
The two three-story buildings will be built in a “farmhouse” style and have metal roofs, vertical windows and siding that looks like wood. Colors on the homes will be a mix of blue, white and light yellow.
“This development is going to be compatible with the surrounding area,” Elmer Penaranda, a senior city planner, told the council, when he urged it to back the project.
Along with a garage, each townhouse will have a laundry room.
The houses also will have electrical stations for charging cars and other technological amenities that will help make them “future-proof,” City Councilman Benny Lee said.
“Really, the future landscape is the ability to work remotely,” Lee said. “That’s why high-speed connectivity is very important.”
Wong, the architect, said plans for the townhouses include making them solar-ready and having smart meters installed.
“Even the locks can be ‘programmable,’ ” Wong said. “When you walk out you can have the option to shut your blinds and shut your lights off so that you don’t have any problems.”
The property’s owner plans to live in one of the townhouses, he said.
The owner has opted to pay $116,000 as an in-lieu fee instead of designating any unit affordable, Penaranda said. The money will go into a city fund that promotes affordable housing, he said.
A homeowners association will oversee the condominiums, which will be in two buildings that will front a driveway off Marina Boulevard.
No one from the public commented during the council meeting.
The property borders a four-story, 28-unit apartment complex, which faces Estabrook Street, and a four-unit apartment complex at Marina Boulevard and Clarke Street. A house is west of the site.
Cutter called it “a quality spot” for redevelopment.