The large mixed-use projects that are coming to fruition in the post-pandemic era are embracing the live/work/play ethos that was accelerated by the rise of hybrid work patterns, aiming to provide residents with everything they need in a “15-minute lifestyle.”
In these walkable, transit-oriented communities, the quarter-of-an-hour standard refers to the amount of time it takes for residents to get to where they want to go to do just about anything, including working, shopping and entertainment.
Two of the largest East Bay mega-projects that are poised to move forward in 2025 are aiming for the 15-minute lifestyle.
Planning officials in Livermore last month approved another piece of the city’s Isabel Neighborhood Specific Plan, a mosaic of developments on 1,100 acres of mostly publicly owned land that will surround a new light rail station that is yet to be built.
At its December 17 meeting, the city’s planning commission approved Cornerstone, a 253-unit housing development at the corner of Collier Canyon Road and Constitution Drive.
Eagle, Idaho-based Pacific Companies is planning to build 143 for-sale condominiums, six of which will be priced for low-income to extremely low-income tenants, and 108 affordable rental units priced for the same groups. The campus will include 21 three-story residential buildings, a five-story apartment building and two parks.
If approved by the city council, Cornerstone will become part of the Isabel plan, which was adopted in 2020 and envisions a new walkable neighborhood of more than 4,000 new homes, as well as ground-floor retail and flex spaces for gyms, childcare facilities and coffee shops.
The first phase of the Isabel plan, approved last year for the area southwest of Portola and Isabel avenues, will feature 1,299 multifamily units, including 363 units designated as affordable. The Isabel plan is centered around the future Valley Link Rail Station, which will be located in the median of I-580 east of Isabel Avenue.
About 15 miles northwest of Livermore in San Ramon, Sunset Development applied last month with the city for the redevelopment of the 92-acre site that was the former headquarters of oil giant Chevron, which sold the site to Sunset in 2022 for $175M.
Sunset submitted plans for the replacement of the Chevron Park office campus at 6001 Bollinger Canyon Road with a mixed-use residential neighborhood, known as The Orchards, which will include 2,510 new homes and 125K square feet of retail space.
Sunset owns the 585-acre Bishop Ranch master-planned development encompassing the Chevron site. In 1978, Sunset Development purchased a former peach orchard adjacent to Interstate 680 and developed it into a 10M square feet office park with more than 500 corporate clients.
Sunset is planning to convert Bishop Ranch, into a $5B mixed-use walkable downtown for San Ramon over the next decade, eventually including up to 10,000 housing units, with 1,000 getting designated affordable.
The plan for The Orchards will be built in three phases. The first phase will be the Orchards Neighborhood, a lower-density community with 426 homes in a mix of townhomes and single-family homes along a network of streets, mews and pocket parks.
This will be followed by a mixed-use district featuring residential communities with ground-floor retail, entertainment and commercial uses. A multifamily district will include communities developed into apartments and condos, as well as senior and affordable housing.
The three districts of The Orchards will be connected by parks and 15 acres of open space.
“Bishop Ranch is embarking on an exciting transformation, transitioning from a traditional office campus to a dynamic mixed-use development that aligns perfectly with the evolving needs of our community,” Sunset Development said, in a statement.
“Our vision is to create an all-encompassing destination that offers a remarkable 15-minute lifestyle, eliminating the hassle of long commutes and providing a seamless blend of convenience and luxury,” the company said.