San Leandro in the Spotlight as BART Hopes For More Offices Near Stations

The cover story for the October 30 issue of the San Francisco Business Times, focuses on BART’s efforts to develop and encourage development of land adjacent to stations for office or mixed-use purposes, where in the past there has been priority placed on residential use.

The article places San Leandro in the spotlight as it provides a number of positive examples of transit-oriented projects currently underway or in the planning stages. At the top of the list is the San Leandro Tech Campus, which is immediately adjacent to BART. According to studies, commuters favor using BART when the benefit is proximity to the workplace, more so than their place of residence, hence the increase in attention on office and mixed-use projects. Further, with some BART lines nearing capacity during commute hours, BART has become supportive of more “reverse commute” riders on its system. That means creating more workplaces in cities once thought of as bedroom suburbs.

The paper copy also features a dual-page BART service map, indicating dozens of development projects adjacent to BART stations. In addition to the proposed transit-oriented development plans at Bayfair, this map also lists six development projects near the San Leandro station:

• The Tech Campus
• Creekside Plaza
• Marea Alta
• Town Hall Square
• 1659-1695 Washington
• The corner of E. 14^th Street and Callan Avenue (former CVS site).

San Leandro’s exposure in this respect is a clear indication that the City is at the forefront of a new development trend taking place across the Bay Area.