Preliminary permits have been filed to replace the Harbor Bay Landing shopping center with over three hundred units at 867 Island Drive in Alameda, Alameda County. The project will remove the only shopping center in the city’s neighborhood on Bay Farm Island. The True Life Companies is the project applicant and developer.
Harbor Bay Landing site map, illustration by Woodley Architectural Group Inc
Demolition will be required for surface parking and all existing commercial structures, including the only grocery store currently on Bay Farm Island.
The development will comprise 305 units, consisting of 217 townhome-style dwellings and 88 apartments. The project will provide 255 market-rate apartments and 50 affordable homes. The affordability breakdown will include 22 moderate-income units, 12 low-income units, and 16 very low-income units. Parking will be included for 575 cars.
Harbor Bay Landing zipper towns-style townhomes, rendering by Woodley Architectural Group Inc
Harbor Bay Landing carriage town-style townhomes, rendering by Woodley Architectural Group Inc
Woodley Architectural Group Inc. is overseeing the design. The site planning positions the five-story apartment complex at the corner of Island Drive and Mecartney Road, with the remaining buildings all rising three floors tall. Illustrations depict a familiar vernacular design throughout the site, featuring facade articulation that visually reduces the overall scale of all buildings and delineates townhome-style units.
Burlingame-based Harbor Bay Landing LLC is listed as the property owner. The application invokes Senate Bill 330 to streamline the approval process and lock down existing planning code provisions.
Harbor Bay Landing existing condition outlined approximately by YIMBY, image via Google Satellite
The 9.6-acre property is located at the corner of Island Drive and Mecartney Road. The site is currently improved by a surface parking lot and 130,000 square feet of retail space. The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be shared.
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The project seems solid.
Side note, but I really don’t see the draw to Bay Farm Island. There are very few services there, you’re probably hearing planes coming in to OAK all day and night. You have to cross a bridge just to get onto Alameda proper. There doesn’t appear to be a proper beach, like Alameda does. The walk along the water must be nice, I suppose.
This is interesting given that our former City Planner Andrew Thomas had noted a various town hall meetings that there would be a stipulation that a supermarket would be a condition of approval for any new development. However, that may have been prior to new State legislation that may waive conditions of approval.
Please don’t tell us that a grocery store like our Safeway Market is not going to be a part of these plans. That would create a terrible hardship for hundreds if not thousands of residents, especially if our bridge needed repairs or an earthquake occurred. Can you clarify this issue forthwith? Thank you
This is a terrible development. This would remove our only grocery store on Bay Farm Island. Yes there are only a few services on BFI, and this development would eliminate the essential and only one (grocery store) we currently have.
While more housing is always good, bit shortsighted that Bay Farm is going to lose its only commercial area, gas station, and grocery store. This’ll probably increase traffic going to South Shore over the Bay Farm Bridge.
The traffic is bad enough during the morning and evening commute hours. If this happens, it could take close to an hour to get kids to school on the island. Currently taking 30 mins. I’d have to move . This would actually be really dangerous if there were any emergencies. Good luck getting off Harbor Bay.
This is WRONG for the residents of Bay Farm and the mainland. Removing Safeway and any restaurants or services that are walkable for many of us, is unbelievably enraging. It’ll be a traffic cluster without options.
Whose brainchild is this and have they visited Nay Farm?
LH, I agree with you 100%
Amen!!!!
The complete removal of the only grocery and restaurants serving the entire BF island should be looked at hard. This will provide welcome housing, albeit low density; there should be some preservation of commercial so it doesn’t create a new food desert and extra VMT
Why would you build that many units/homes/apartments etc? Has research been done on the fact that bay farm is supposedly sinking, where the students would go to school – elementary, middle and high school, can our current fire department on the island handle the possibility of more 911 calls? What would happen to the businesses that are currently at the landing?
Horrible idea to increase housing on Bay Farm, the traffic is unbearable in the mornings.
Yikes. As pro-development as I am, to completely eliminate all shopping and grocery options on Bay Farm is not going to work out well. I was always under the impression that this would be mixed use, with retail on the ground floor.
The projects removes the only grocery store in the community without any plans of replacing it, and on top of that will at over 800 units. This will burden both present and future residents with the need to drive across the bridge into Alameda Island for groceries, increasing VMT and congestion at the same time. The city needs to figure out a way to include or re-site the grocery store in the community if this project is to be approved. SB330 intent wasn’t to degrade access to amenities.
How does the developer plan to resolve the already congested nature of only ONE entrance to main Alameda?Traffic as it is takes 30 minutes in the morning to leave Bay Farm. Adding 500 additional cars to the road will make Bay Farm unlivable. Also, the developers are irresponsible for removing the only grocery store on the island and not replacing it. For over 40 years Bay Farm has depending on the retail at Harbor Bay Landing. These services have been slowly forced out by outlandish rent increases meant to justify the “low occupancy” the developers need to level this community service center. This is about people lives, not making an investment group more profit.
This idea of the Harbor Landing Development is futuristic but not realistic. Meaning that people in this community have no access to purchasing groceries nearby. Unfortunately, the nearest shopping center is South Shore, which is located (15) minutes away. People need at least (1) one shopping place in case of emergencies. Also the CVS has disappeared leaving people to go outside of their neighborhood for medications. People in communities need the convenience of having nearby access to retailers. Such as the gas stations, parks, cleaners, grocery stores, post office, etc. A small plaza of a variety of needs that benefit the surrounding community. There are not any fast food restaurants, wash houses or cannabis clubs on Harbor Bay. These are the future ideas for moving forward in considering the Alameda/town.
Where are kids from this new housing complex supposed to go to school? I think the schools are already crowded.
California living
I’d like to know what we can do to oppose this.
Barry
I agree with the unanimous opinions that any new plan must retain the popular stores especially the Safeway and the restaurants and the gas station. They should have a plan to keep them open during the construction. New housing could be above the ground floor. Sufficient parking spaces for the Safeway need to be retained. This terrible plan will also exacerbate the traffic flow out of Bay Farm Island. One possibility is to create an extra lane or two where there is currently an unneeded traffic island. Why were these major issues not considered and resolved before forging ahead with a terrible plan with major negative impact to the local residents that are adversely affected? The city council is beholden to the residents, not the developer.
This is a massive structure that does not fit in and will stick out like a sore thumb in Bay Farm. Between that and the impact on already packed roads out of the area, this will be a real nightmare. I understand the requirements for Alameda to develop housing (density and income dependent) however am opposed at this not being thoughtful development and adding more problems, along with taking away the only grocery store in the area. South Shore Safeway is 0.8 miles away, and as I type this at 2:05pm will take 16 minutes to get there. 16 minutes of increased car traffic, fuel consumption (pollution), and 32+ minutes to get essential life items. Did we ask why it must be so massive? Why they are taking away the only grocery store? How they will mitigate the increase to traffic? The list goes on…
If this project is to go forward it should require street level retail for grocery, pharmacy, dry cleaners, restaurants, etc. for Bay Farm residents. Also, enough parking for customers of these establishments.
This is a travesty to the residents of Harbor Bay Isle. Seniors need a walkable distance to a grocery store and prescription pick ups. Where is the City Council to stand up for us? Our current schools can NOT handle this. Shame on you City Council and Master Community Board for not having public input on this!
I remember the harbor bay folks kind of shouting down the planning directors ideas for Harbor Bay which would have preserved things like the grocery store. I guess this is sort of what you end up with. You lose not only the grocery store but all the dinning / retail / cafe / UPS store etc etc. I wonder if there will be some regret for not doing something more collaborative -> this looks like a straight SB 330 play but obviously there will be some efforts to negotiate at some point I’d imagine.
This development will create soo much more traffic
At harbor by landing and the surrounding areas— will
There still be the Safeway and the restaurants in that
Shopping Center? You already took away CVS
US bank — this harbor bay and bay farm area needs
The Safeway, and restaurants at the harbor bay
Landing — why can’t we bring in more business like
More restaurants— CVS again — Trader Joe’s—
I feel we do not need more housing at harbor bay
Landing — we need more businesses in the shopping
Center — please. Consider these concerns
Mimi Y.
This is beyond ridiculous. Aside from the complete oversight that removing the only grocery store and services on the peninsula is beyond idiotic. The bridges would need to be expanded to deal with the additional traffic. Not to mention that Alameda public schools are already over crowded and have been since I was a student 20 years ago.
This would simply destroy the community in the worst of ways while not addressing or helping in any way aside from creating more traffic.
The traffic on the bridge is already crazy during commute hours. What measures are being proposed to ease congestion if these new housing units are approved?
Additionally, if the plan includes eliminating Safeway—our only nearby grocery store—current Bay Farm residents will be forced to cross the bridge just to buy basic necessities like bread.
For these reasons, I strongly oppose this plan. Instead, the project should focus on reimagining the community shopping center in a way that both preserves essential services and enhances quality of life for residents.
You all bring up good points needing grocery stores, gas, medications, essentials. More people and cars wouldn’t allow schools to be high quality. And how would this affect our HOA communities
What does it mean to “file a permit”? Have the developers filed an application for a permit? Or has a definitive permit been granted? Or something in-between? What is “Andrew Nelson’s” source
You just can’t have thousands of people living on BFI with no grocery store. Where are all these new kids going to go to school? The existing elementary schools are already impacted.And the traffic is already difficult enough to get off BFI in the morning. I lived on BFI for over 30 years and I know what I’m talking about!
Terrible plan. Bay farm is a nice quaint area. That shopping center also has a really nice feel to it, not sure why any developer would think it’s ok to replace the towns grocery store and shopping center with housing. Developers should focus all their attention on building a community for hundreds of thousands of people in Camarillo California on all that empty farmland. Maybe a medium density city around a large man made lake, similar in style to Oaklands lake Merritt. The Bay Area really needs to contain its growth and send development to other parts of the state and country.
I moved to Camarillo in 2000, and sadly the “empty farmland” that you speak of is also being targeted by the City Council for housing development. One of the things I grew accustomed to while living there was shopping at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market for produce, fish and the best handmade tamales I’ve ever tasted.
My parents lived on Harbor Bay
1. All people living on Harbor Bay & BFI need a local grocery store, gas station, & pharmacy.
2. Make this a mix use development.
3. Getting off or on BFI will be a nightmare in an emergency and the daily commute will be congested.
4. People on HB & BFI need places to congregate such as coffee shops and restaurants.
I grew up in Alameda and left in 2000 only to return in 2022. I was surprised at how much this city has changed and was hoping to retire here. Now, I’m having second thoughts especially since I live here on BFI. While I’m not a fan of the Safeway, it is the only place on the BFI to shop if you need to pick up a few items. The city should be looking for ways to improve the commerce here, not create more overpriced housing, population density and traffic congestion.
Fellow Bay Farm residents, we need to form a Bay Farm/ HBI group of residents to oppose this now.
And let the Planning Board and City Council know
that this plan is plain bad for the residents of Bay Farm Island.
Also, if you have a Homeowners Asc. let them know your feelings and ask them to get involved on this.
I think it’s a rather lost opportunity cost that new housing development cannot happen in the Harbor Bay Business Park instead where it already has plenty of room and the roadway infrastructure to support the increase in traffic. They really should try to explore an agreement with Port of Oakland to make this happen.
Instead they’re sacrificing on tearing down the only grocery store and commercial center (what little is left) for it. If this plan is mixed used where it would actually increase the number shops and retail along with the added housing units, I would’ve been all for it. Although traffic along Island Drive and the Dolittle Bridge would be a nightmare during peak hours. The city wants to promote bike/ped friendliness, yet not having any retail and grocery in Bay Farm is completely in contrast to that.
Realistically, coming up with the most cost/profit maximizing design is generally common as they probably expect to negotiate to having add in retail and shops. The proposed five-story apartment building I assume they’re adjusting for have to accomodate that on it’s ground floors.
Please keep the gas station. It’s the only station on the island. If there’s an emergency and people need gas, where else can they go? Also I can drop off my car for servicing and walk home. The closest dealer is 7 miles away.
I have been living on Bay Farm for 34 years. While I have watched the shopping center degrade, I am fully opposed to this development. As sited previously, the traffic during school drip off and pick up is terrible. There is no consideration about how one can exit Harbor Bay in an emergency. Are we all going to crowd over to Safeway in South shore to get our pharmacy meds? Already a parking disaster. How do we as a community fight against this and preserve the loving neighborhoods we have?
These plan were developed likely without community input what so ever. I often walk to safeway since it is just under 1 mile. Now this plan will FORCE me and everyone else into their cars to go to the store. Very bad planning. A better plan would have retail on the bottom with housing units built over.You can have both.
Greedy developers are at it again. They won’t suffer the inconveniences they’ll create with this monstrosity since they don’t live there. 255 market rate (rich people only) vs 50 “affordable” (how affordable?). What a ripoff! Has this been approved by the city?
How can this be opposed?
Please email city council officials. Doesn’t do much good to complain amongst us. It only takes a few minutes to write then copy and paste to the Mayor, Vice Mayor etc. They need to know how the residents feel about this issue.
They know how we feel! Maybe it’s time to elect people that care about this island.
This is a terrible idea for multiple reasons. I have lived in Alameda for the past 47 years, 15 of which have been on Bay Farm. One of the reasons we moved back to the main island was traffic issues and the population has only continued to grow. Without other avenues to get on and off Bay Farm is DANGEROUS. Removing the only grocery store and gathering place for Bay Farm residents is outrageous! Many residents are elderly and having to leave the area to get essentials would be a hardship. Additionally, communities require a space to gather. That shopping area played a significant role in our lives when we lived there.
This project will devastate Bay Farm. Do they expect all the Bay Farm residents drive to Alameda for groceries? How will this effect traffic in the main island? How about schools? They don’t have enough capacity to handle new residents. I hope our elected officials have enough sense to reject this proposal.
This is a horrible idea.
I am very concerned about this proposed plan eliminating the amenities that we all considered when buying our homes (Grocery store, multiple restaurants, Coffee Shop, real estate and financial services, dog grooming services, Gym, UPS Store, Hair Salon, etc.) We all use these services and the elimination of them will definitely affect our quality of life and the walkability score of our homes in sales. Being homeowners in Harbor Bay Isle since 1981, all of these amenities were a consideration in our purchase in Harbor Bay as well as our aging in place due to the close proximity of services to us. You will also see many of our children walking and riding their bicycles, scooters, and skateboards to the shopping center as it is relatively safe for them to do so within Harbor Bay as opposed to them having to go over the bridge onto Otis Drive which is quite dangerous for them.
In addition, currently entering and leaving Harbor Bay Isle during school drop off/pick up times and commute hour times is a nightmare. The addition of 300, to possibly 500 vehicles, will only make this problem worse.
The residents within Harbor Bay Isle (HBI) and Bay Farm Island that are in opposition to this proposal that eliminates the shopping center in HBI and the above mentioned services within the center need to make their opinion heard by the City of Alameda before this proposal moves forward any further.
This is the most ridiculous plan I have ever seen for HBI. Not only is Safeway going to be taken away, but the gas station is set to close by November. Now a developer is drawing up plans for 300+ units?! Traffic on the bridge is bad as it is, now you’re going to put more cars and people on the road. The developer is not thinking about the livelihood of the current (or potential future) residents by taking away Safeway and adding more traffic and homes to the area. There is plenty of space out on Harbor Bay Parkway or the Alameda Base they can check out. Definitely more space in Oakland too!!
Not a good plan or idea. The impacts of this type of development should be fully mitigated. Alameda should promote a walkable and rideable community, not a over urbanized future housing area without amenities.
Not a BFI resident, but even I can imagine what a clusterF this will be. Is the City looking at buying some of the business park and repurposing that area for necessary infrastructure?
Did they even ask the SS Safeway if they can handle the increased traffic?
Is the city going to build another major road out to the San Leandro/880 area?
What will happen to the library, Leydecker Park and the churches?
Aren’t they also building housing at the Harbor Bay Club space?
I work on the main island and do most of my shopping there, but the weekends are when we relax, play and worship. Bay Farm will become a food desert and I agree with every other resident about the traffic nightmare and schools.
Are they planning to build a grocery store on the Business Park somewhere? It would be nice to keep some restaurants and a store on bay Farm.
The original Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Harbor Bay Isle was designed as a residential community with specific land uses, including a commercial area of 130,000 square feet of retail space? now the Harbor Bay Landing shopping center). The City Council of Alameda should NOT allow Buyers of homes in Harbor Bay Isle and all the other residents of Bay Farm Island including Casitas, Islandia, Garden Isle, and Normandy to be hoodwinked by the developers. We all need the commercial space we were promised by the city plus the adequate parking for its use. Do we need to file a lawsuit to protect our rights and safety?
Thanks to Marie for her knowledge of promises forgotten, by this proposal. I too want to protest the seeming lack of thought for the many current long-time residents who rely on the shopping center, as we do! I too have lived here for 36 years, and love to use the restaurants and particularly the Safeway there. We are of an age, when we look forward to our almost daily walks to avoid using car for groceries, cleaning, and mailing items at UPS.Because there is already too many cars out here. 300 + units means a horrible number of cars on already impacted streets here! I think there are better places for more housing at the Point! NOT this critical part of Harbor Bay.!
I also remember the discussion including commercial like a grocery store.
We need to sue to stop this process and have it restructured to include services.
Hell no. This would cause too much traffic. Stay away from Bay Farm.