SAN LORENZO — The site of a former Mervyn’s, which has been vacant for more than two decades, will finally be transformed into housing and retail after county supervisors rejected a union attempt to put the plan on hold.
The future Village Green on Hesperian Boulevard at the site of the former department store will have 163 apartments and about 12,000 square feet of retail.
“We believe it’s the catalyst — the starter — for the San Lorenzo community,” developer Terry Demmon told supervisors Tuesday about the $16 million housing project, which could jump-start the neighborhood that has seen little development since Mervyn’s closed the store in 1995.
On Tuesday, supervisors denied an appeal brought by four unions, which maintained an environmental impact report for the project was flawed.
Tuesday’s appeal sparked criticism that the unions, acting as “East Bay Residents for Responsible Development,” were using the California Environmental Quality Act as a tool to force the developer, Demmon Partners of Redwood City, to work with them.
The effort to resolve the labor issue prompted supervisors earlier this month to postpone considering the environmental appeal from the unions, and led Supervisor Richard Valle on Tuesday to call for another postponement so that the developer and unions could continue talking on hiring organized labor at the project.
“We should be able to reach an agreement. That’s my belief,” John Dalrymple, a consultant for the unions, told supervisors.
On Tuesday, Terry Demmon said he was willing to meet with labor officials, but was pessimistic anything would change. “We can’t go any further,” he said.
Valle’s suggestion to put off a decision — initially supported by Supervisor Nate Miley — clearly angered Supervisor Wilma Chan, who represents San Lorenzo.
Chan called the former Mervyn’s site an “eyesore.”
“I can honestly say that the future of this area depends on moving this project forward,” she said.
Chan noted that the unions’ appeal was only about alleged environmental faults with the project, not whether it would be built with organized labor.
Just Valle opposed Chan’s motion to deny the appeal and let the project proceed. Supervisor Scott Haggerty was absent.
The board’s action clears the way for the housing development to begin in San Lorenzo, a town of about 23,000 residents in unincorporated Alameda County between San Leandro and Hayward.
About a dozen people spoke about the project at Tuesday’s meeting. Almost all urged supervisors to support what will be known as the Village Green at the former Mervyn’s site.
“The Village Green is looking a little like Village Gray at this point,” said San Lorenzo resident Chloe Waldrep, who said she has watched the site deteriorate for 23 years. “Why are you letting this large lot in such a charming community go vacant for so long?”
Just when construction may begin on Village Green was not available.
The union coalition has mounted similar challenges to fight housing projects in the past few years, including in Oakland against 416 housing units on 12th Street and against a 225-unit project at 2400 Valdez St.
The unions that filed the appeal include International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595, Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 104, Sprinkler Fitters Local 483 and United Association Local Union 342, which represents plumbers and steamfitters.
Demmon pledged to have union electrical and sprinkler fitters working on the San Lorenzo project. Organized plumbers and sheet metal workers also would be hired if their bid was within the lowest 10 percent for the project, the developer said.
The Mervyn’s store was demolished years ago, with only the parking lot remaining on the five acres between Paseo Grande and Via Mercado.
The Bohannon Companies, which emerged from the business that built many of the tract homes in the neighborhood in the post-World War II housing boom, owns the Mervyn’s site and has agreed to sell it to Demmon Partners.
The apartments will be about one mile from the Bay Fair BART station and scattered across five buildings. Rental discounts will be offered for teachers, first responders and veterans, according to the developer. There will be 223 parking spots for residents and 33 spaces for shop visitors, plus an 18-foot-by-90-foot dog park that would be available to the public.
As part of the project, the Lorenzo Theatre, a historic landmark across Hesperian Boulevard from the future housing, will get a $300,000 makeover to restore its neon sign and marquee.
San Lorenzo resident Michael Sandroni was blunt about the frustration neighbors have felt as they watched the property decay over decades — and their desire for something to change.
“I told the developer that I was willing to start using the jackhammer myself if that’s what it would take to get things started,” Sandroni said.
Other San Lorenzo residents also said they want something built on the site.
“It’s truly hard to understand why it looks the way it does, especially with the Bay Area’s economy booming the way it is and when people need housing,” said Nikolas Colver, 27, as he cruised past the former department store site on his bicycle on a recent afternoon.
A Boston native who came to California seeking tech work, Colver said he moved to San Leandro about six months ago from San Francisco, hoping to find a cheaper place to live. He’s currently staying with friends.
Colver may have to continue searching despite plans to redevelop the site of the former Mervyn’s.
The average rent for a future apartment at the site will be about $2,800, according to Demmon.
