Council approves old Mervyns HQ project
The City Council voted unanimously last week to reject an appeal by opponents of the planned transformation of the former Mervyns Stores headquarters, clearing the way for a vibrant new residential and retail development project.
Developer Dollinger Properties of Redwood City plans a large-scale, mixed-use development of 476 market-rate apartments, 80,500 square feet of commercial space, and a combination of surface and structured parking at the critical Foothill Boulevard site serving as a gateway to downtown Hayward.
The 22301 Foothill Boulevard property—bound by Hazel Avenue on the north, City Center Drive on the south and San Lorenzo Creek to the west—was vacated in 2008 when Mervyns went out of business. It fell into disrepair, and became subject to trespassing and vandalism, a focus of code-enforcement actions, and a frequent source of calls for police and emergency services.
The project, called Lincoln Landing, is part of a strategic vision of the Council and city executive leadership to bring more residents, private investment and creative planning to the downtown core to enhance its standing as a destination and social and cultural hub.
Demolition work at the old Mervyns headquarters building is already under way.
The Council vote in favor of Lincoln Landing came less than three months after it gave unanimous final approval to Maple and Main, another transformative downtown project of 192 market-rate apartments, 48 apartments priced affordably to very low-income households, 48,000 square feet of rehabilitated medical offices, and 5,500 feet of retail space.
