New plans have been filed for the Auburn Grove townhome development along Woodland Avenue and Auburn Street in San Rafael, Marin County. The development will bring dozens of homes to a vacant parcel. City Ventures is the project developer.
The project will bring 16 three-story multi-unit structures across 3.3 acres of the 8.8-acre parcel, giving a 20-foot setback from protected wetlands. There will be 79 three-bedroom apartments spanning 168,770 square feet. Parking will be provided for 158 cars, far above zoning requirements for 95 cars.
Auburn Grove Townhomes, illustrations by Fournier Design Studio and Hunt Hale Jones Architects
Approximately 20% of the units will be designated as affordable to households earning around 60% of the Area’s Median Income. This will allow the developer to use the State Density Bonus program to receive two waivers and streamline the approval process with Senate Bill 330. While the project will not exceed the density requirements, the developer has sought waivers relating to rear and wetland setbacks.
Fournier Design Studio and Hunt Hale Jones Architects are jointly responsible for the design. The carriage house-style homes will be decorated with a Craftsman-inspired facade treatment. Facade materials will include brick veneer, stucco, and cementitious shingle siding. C2 Collaborative is the landscape architect.
Auburn Grove Townhomes site existing condition, image via Google Satellite outlined approximately by YIMBY
The northern edge of the project site will abut a section of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train tracks running along Andersen Drive. Residents will be a half-hour walk from downtown San Rafael SMART station or seven minutes by bicycle.
The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be established.
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My wife and I were just talking about this empty lot last week. Glad to see something proposed for it. It might be a little closer to the Larkspur SMART station: ~20 min walk, 5 on bike. Depending on where on the property you start from.
I shouldn’t complain about new housing too much, but I find it depressing how much of the space in these new developments is just streets and driveways. 3.3 acres for 79 homes is 1820 feet per home. This is pretty similar to SF west side row houses, where many duplexes are on 3000sf lots — less dense, even — and yet SF row houses tend to have some decent private backyards, while these appear to be tiny and/or shared.
I guess it’s all about how it looks from the street, and row houses look too “urban”, so it’s better to hide the garages in the back, even if it means that all your open space is consumed by driveways and parking.
And then people will complain about “density”…
Very much agree. It’s also unfortunate how poorly served this site is by public transit despite being so close to downtown/central San Rafael and the Canal with its excellent transit service. (Although there’s hourly, or better, intra-county service a block away.) At least there’s great bike paths very close by.