The Walnut Creek City Council has approved a plan to build 254 units of senior housing and a 136-bed residential care facility on 9.49 acres in Shadelands business park.
Hall Equities Group will develop the Oakmont of Shadelands Senior Housing and Residential Care Facility at the former Joint Genome Institute site at 2800 Mitchell Drive.
The council voted 4-1 to approve the project, with Kevin Wilk dissenting. Wilk said he was concerned over rezoning and rebuilding a site that was specifically meant for biotech jobs.
The site and its five one-story buildings, which will be demolished, was originally built by Dow Chemical in the 1960s. It has been vacant since 2019.
The project required the council to agree to amend its general plan to change the site’s zoning from business park to mixed use residential. It also calls for removing 105 trees — six of which are considered highly protected — and dividing the land into two parcels.
The facility will be located near the northwest border of Shadelands, adjacent to the Animal Rescue Foundation, the Springfield Montessori School and Shadelands Self-Storage. The site is separated from the Contra Costa Canal by an access driveway belonging to 1925 Oak Grove Road.
The housing will include four buildings, courtyards, and a small recreation building. Two buildings would be three stories, and two would be four stories.
The three-story care facility will be licensed by the California Department of Social Services to provide housing for people 62 years and older who need assistance, but not 24-hour medical care.