Hines and American Realty to Add Affordable Homes in Dublin

Hines and American Realty Advisors will add affordable housing to their urban village project in Downtown Dublin.

The Houston-based developer and Los Angeles-based real estate investor have agreed to build up to 164 affordable homes, plus set aside 1.1 acres for up to 170 affordable senior homes at 7200 Amador Plaza Road, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The Dublin Commons, approved last month, will redevelop the 26-acre Dublin Place Shopping Center into a Main Street-style village of 1,500 homes, 500,000 square feet of research labs and 275,000 square feet of new and existing shops and restaurants.

Now the developer and property owner have agreed to add affordable housing to the $1 billion project — but Dublin’s City Council wants them to add even more.

Plans by Hines and American Realty call for 30 moderate-income units and 24 low-income units, and the dedication of a 1.1-acre parcel on the north side of the project for the city to build between 80 and 170 units of affordable senior housing.

The City Council unanimously agreed that it wanted more units to the project to help satisfy its state-mandated housing goal of building 3,719 homes, 61 percent of them affordable, by 2031.

City officials demanded the joint venture add 60 moderate-income units and 24 low-income units, plus the senior housing dedication site, known as Block H. They also asked them to consider converting some rental units into condominiums.

“What I would ask for is to create a flexible provision in (the agreement) that allows for renewed evaluation based on changes in economic timing,” Mayor Michael McCorriston said. “I want to see some possibility of affordability, and I do mean ‘for sale.’”

The senior housing development site has not been approved. The joint venture is expected to give it to the city before the first residential building permit. The city would then recruit an affordable housing developer to build the project.

Hines will return to the city’s Planning Commission with an updated plan for the affordable homes, to be approved by the Dublin City Council.

Kevin Fryer, who represented Hines, said that affordable and market rate units cost about the same to build, which can make it difficult for a highly affordable project to pencil out.

The first phase of Dublin Commons calls for a 33,000-square-foot retail building where the shopping center’s 15 shops and restaurants could temporarily move in during its redevelopment.

Last month, the Planning Commission refused to approve the structure, saying it looked like a strip mall and didn’t comply with city design standards, according to the Business Times. The City Council reversed the decision.

— Dana Bartholomew