The Green on Park Place November 2008 Update
Located directly across from Hacienda Crossings in Dublin, The Green on Park Place is expected to be Blake Hunt Ventures’ answer to Santana Row and the Stanford Shopping Center. The Green on Park Place will be a 27-acre post-modern monument to Dublin’s progress as a thriving community with roughly 305,000 sq. ft. of retail shops, restaurants, and professional services offices. President and Chief Operating Officer Jerry Hunt said that Blake Hunt is seeking to create a signature gathering place that Dublin can be proud of.
The Green on Park Place’s anchor will be a 55,000 sq. ft. Whole Foods grocery store adorned with decorative oversized green leaves. Blake Hunt is also in negotiations with numerous prospective tenants, including REI and California Pizza Kitchen. There is also the possibility for The Green on Park Place to host special events such as a Dublin Farmers Market.
At the heart of this retail project is a central public space called The Green, through which the new street Park Place will cut. The Green’s central space will feature a basin-less pop jet water fountain, a distinctive public art piece, and a wind and sun sheltered outdoor plaza. Also of note is that The Green on Park Place will be planting a veritable forest of fully-grown Poplar, Cypress, Crape Myrtle, Flowering Pear, and 50 year-old Olive trees throughout the center.
The Green on Park Place will be part of Dublin’s grand vision of establishing a thriving transit village around the East Dublin BART station. Blake Hunt is also in the process of purchasing nearly 36 acres of adjacent land from Alameda County at a total cost of $90M that will most likely be a mixed-use development that expands on the theme of The Green on Park Place. Once developed, Blake Hunt will have achieved the holy grail of smart design by interweaving a tapestry of homes, jobs, uber-efficient transit, and services in a highly-accessible area.
Blake Hunt is striving to achieve the coveted Silver LEED certification rating with The Green on Park Place. If achieved, this would most likely be the first retail center in California to be LEED certified. The expectation is that building permits will be issued in spring 2009 and construction of The Green on Park Place will be completed by the first quarter of 2010.
3:51 PM on November 15th, 2008
John, does it seem like there’s less red tape at The Green at Park Place as compared to Grafton Station/Promenade ? It doesn’t seem like the Green at Park Place project has an parking issues, facade of the buildings and seeking tenants.
6:23 PM on November 15th, 2008
Yeah, get it done fast. I can’t wait.
7:04 PM on November 15th, 2008
Hi David – I think that there are a few reasons why The Green seems to be moving along more quickly than Grafton Station and the Promenade.
The biggest reason is that a great deal of the leg work was completed by 2004 when the IKEA and Emerald Place Retail Center projects were approved for development on the site where The Green is being built. Once IKEA pulled out in 2006, Blake Hunt had the vision to acquire the IKEA property and expand the “lifestyle center” to the 305,000 sq. ft. property that we’ll see in 2010.
Another reason that we’re seeing more traction is that The Green is optimally located adjacent to the incredibly popular Hacienda Crossings and East Dublin BART Station Transit Village.
A third reason is that The Promenade has more stringent design standards than The Green. The City has set the bar high with the Promenade and has sent the developer’s architect back to the drawing board many times (which has resulted in delays).
A fourth reason is that The Green scored big when they landed Whole Foods as the anchor. That really cleared the way and provided the motivation for the developer to kick the project into high gear.
Thx, John Z.
1:22 AM on November 16th, 2008
Now John, all we need is for Blake Hunt or a developer that is just as reputable to acquire that land owned by the DiManto Co (I believe that’s who owns it) that is sitting on Tassajara Rd. and do something spectacular with it.
Any idea on what’s going on with that land?
2:40 AM on November 16th, 2008
John, i thought in the past you wrote The Promenade is Dublin’s Santana Row? but anyway, i can’t wait to see both The Green and The Promenade. I came by to check out The Streets of Brentwood with my family today because there was a big buzz about it in the news despite the economy..and my gosh I was so disappointed. I just felt oh so bored and homesick. what a waste of gas. i hope The Green and the PRomenade will be vibrant, beautiful, and welcoming.
6:48 AM on November 16th, 2008
Hi Anonymous 11/16/08 12:22 AM – I haven’t heard of any movement on the sale of the DiManto land along Tassajara.
7:00 AM on November 16th, 2008
Hi Anonymous 11/16/08 1:40AM – you bring up a good point, I have referred to The Promenade as Dublin’s Santana Row given the amenities and proposed layout of the project at build-out.
Blake Hunt is building The Green to be a destination, similar to Santana Row and the Stanford Shopping Center.
It’s unfortunate to hear that the Brentwood shopping center isn’t all that great. Was it that there weren’t very many shoppers there or was it that the layout and design were less than awe-inspiring?
10:48 AM on November 16th, 2008
The faster we see this built, the easier/faster the homes in the area will be sold! Let’s get this done!
2:07 AM on November 17th, 2008
Re: Sts of Brntwood
John, the city of brentwood has its fair share of foreclosures and its remote location have contributed to a lesser foot traffic i think. the water feature, a very important gathering point was not working, very few stores that are not all that great, oh and the walkways are very narrow. two strollers can hardly pass through at some point of our journey. The building facades look surprisingly nice from store to store but the entire place doesn’t feel welcoming but rather intimidating due to tight security and a trailer called police dept located in the center of the plaza. but the upcoming holiday ice skating rink could change all the overall feel of the place. i just don’t see myself coming back.
5:31 AM on November 17th, 2008
Hi Anonymous – thank you for providing the analysis of the Streets of Brentwood. Hopefully, they’ll be able to turn things around.
4:56 PM on November 17th, 2008
John, i noticed that in The Green website there is a pretty large park illustrated along martinelli way with green grass and trees. is Blake Hunt proposing a new park in the area? if so, i think this is a wonderful idea.
7:13 PM on November 17th, 2008
Hi Anonymous 11/17/08 3:56pm – are you referring to the park illustrated in the first and second gallery photos on The Green’s website? The park looks to be drawn on the northside of Martinelli Way, which I believe is not actually part of The Green. I’ll check with the City to be certain, but the park may have been drawn for “conceptual” purposes only.
5:42 AM on November 18th, 2008
Hello Again Anonymous 11/17/08 3:56pm – The Green is only to the south of Martinelli Way. Based on this, the developer must have taken a few liberties in drawing the park-like setting to the north of Martinelli Way.
The grassy area with trees really does look great. Maybe we could have something like that along Martinelli Way once somebody develops the parcel in between Martinelli Way and Dublin Blvd.
2:18 PM on November 18th, 2008
QUESTION: What happened to “the green” from the original design proposal, which was supposed to be a central “town green” the size of a football field? I’m curious why they are still calling it “The Green”.
Tim Hall
Dublin, CA
tiger650@comcast.net
8:28 PM on November 18th, 2008
Just wondering: Why did IKEA back out?
10:11 PM on November 18th, 2008
Re: Why did IKEA back out?
I don’t know for sure, but I assume they didn’t think it would be profitable enough and that it would cannibalize sales at their Emeryville and East Palo Alto stores.
Let’s all thank our lucky stars that IKEA backed out. An IKEA store would have attracted a lot of traffic, but it would have been primarily out-of-towners. IKEA is a store you might visit once every couple of years, whereas most Dubliners will probably visit The Green at Park Place many times a year. It is a much better solution for Dublin residents.
Tim Hall
Dublin, CA
tiger650@comcast.net
10:56 PM on November 18th, 2008
Oh, I totally agree with you on how it was awesome that IKEA backed out. I was just wondering.
11:32 PM on November 18th, 2008
IKEA would have brought us hundreds of additional low low paying jobs in addition to bringing all rift rafts from out of town (Bay Area and Central Valley) looking for cheap furniture. We would have been the icing on the cake to make Dublin the place to go for discount retail and discount housing. We would have been associated with East P.A. and Emeryville. Really we are not looking to be associated with either, for better or for worst.
Very glad they pulled out!
11:46 PM on November 18th, 2008
John,
This is a bit off subject but it is in regards to retail. Have you heard what the delay is with Toyota moving to the Dublin Ford building. The yellow sign on the building indicates opening October 1 but we are now approaching December and I don’t see any work going on.
Also any word on what they are going to do with the current Toyota site? Redevelopment of that entire parcel along with the Office Depot site would greatly improve our exterior image. There are plenty of vacated buildings in Downtown or Grafton Station for O.Depot to relocate.
Same question for the old Dodge Building next to VW where Toyota is now storing their overflow vehicles. I see 84 lumber closed up as it looks empty, another opportunity for the city to look at redevelopment for a drabby looking area which is unfortunately so visible.
The entire area needs sprucing up, the widening of Dougherty and the demolition of Miracle Paint and the blue building next to it was a start.
Given the existence a high number of dated auto service buildings in the area (Scarlett and Dublin Ct), along with the abundance of overhead utility and the dry non landscaped 580/Dougherty Road interchange the entire area still looks quite drabby and dilapitated from an outside point of view.
8:04 PM on November 19th, 2008
Hi Anonymous 11/18/08 10:46pm – I’ll see what I can find out regarding Dublin Toyota’s plans and any plans that may be in the works for Dublin and Scarlett Ct. I love your idea for encouraging Office Depot to move to Grafton Station or the soon-to-be vacated Mervyn’s or Circuit City buildings.
Regarding Scarlett Ct., the City of Dublin adopted a set of design guidelines to provide a vision for new development and improvements in the Scarlett Ct. area. Here is the link if you’d like to read more about it:
http://www.ci.dublin.ca.us/DepartmentSubLevel2.cfm?PL=exp&SL=comdev&dsplyID=1032
12:22 AM on November 20th, 2008
Great, thanks John!!
12:14 AM on November 24th, 2008
Hi John,
1st, thanks for being a great source of info for those of us that live here. My husband and I really appreciate it. We are looking forward to the Green project being built! Just want to vote AGAINST the olive trees. they make a mess and leave stains on concrete. If you talk to the developers, warn them not to be taken by their nice, almost sculptural looking branches… will be a hassle for the maintenance people every year.
Thanks again,
Catherine Kuo
5:30 AM on November 24th, 2008
Hi Catherine – I am glad that you and your husband enjoy Around Dublin.
Regarding The Green, the developer has proposed to spray the olive trees with a special substance that will prevent fruiting…so that should reduce the amount of cleanup required.
8:19 AM on November 24th, 2008
Hi Catherine,
The special substance is Ethephon (2-chloroethyl) phosphonic acid, also commonly known as Florel. This plant hormone is widely used for fruit elimination in ornamental trees and shrubs among many other purposes. Thank you.
4:17 PM on December 11th, 2008
Regarding Ikea …
I, for one, live in Dublin and self-rightous people sicken me. I have to travel to Emmeryville once every few months (on par with my visits to Whole Foods in San Ramon). Believe it or not, they sell more than “cheap furniture” and offer a wide selection of product that is also seasonal.
So, because I like to shop and visit Ikea, I’m riff-raff (it’s not rift, nor raft, by the way)? Well, at least I’m not a pretentious jerk.
It is that type of close-minded thinking that I come to expect from Dublin residents. I’ll happily continue to spend my tax dollars outside of Dublin at some of my favorite stores.
7:52 PM on December 11th, 2008
Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous,
re: “It is that type of close-minded thinking that I come to expect from Dublin residents.”
I hesitated to perpetuate your ironic comment by repeating it, but I think you have overreacted to one small-minded person’s post. Regular readers of Around Dublin have learned to overlook the occasional irrational/bigoted/misguided comments by obviously agitated anonymous posters. I don’t think it’s fair of you to stereotype an entire city based on one unpleasant person’s comments.
It’s difficult for me to discern the actual point you are trying to make with your post, but let me give it a try. Are you saying that you would have preferred an Ikea store instead of the Green on Park Place? And are you also saying that you believe that a Dublin Ikea store would attract as many visits from Dublin residents as would a Dublin Whole Foods store? Regardless, the Green on Park Place is going to be much more than just Whole Foods.
NOTE: Unfortunately, since you posted anonymously, it will be impossible to know if you actually respond to my questions, since anyone can post anonymously and claim they are you. I wish the anonymous posts would stop, but I’m fighting a losing battle on that one.
Tim Hall
Dublin, CA
tiger650@comcast.net
12:40 AM on December 12th, 2008
Our family couldn’t have been happier when IKEA pulled out. We like their concept but how often do I have a need to shop or wander around their store? I’ll certainly stroll and spend a lot of time and money at the current center that is under construction.
4:52 AM on December 12th, 2008
The fact is Ikea pulled out and is not coming back in the foreseeable future, so the City and the developer had to move on. I love Ikea as well, but I too believe the Green on Park Place is more impressive in every way than the concept anchored by Ikea would have been. That is all I have read from the comment thread so far.
7:50 AM on December 12th, 2008
I would bet if the posted vote for the week was, “would you rather have an Ikea or a green on park place” it would be a landslide of 99% in favor of the green. The person that was upset not having an Ikea herself said she goes every few months. I think most people will use the Green several time over and it will benefit the city a hundred times over. I think we can thank IKEA for pulling out.
10:20 AM on April 10th, 2009
Looks like the contruction of this site is stopped. Anyone any idea what happened? when they resume the construction?
12:19 PM on April 10th, 2009
Hi Anonymous April 10th – here’s an article related to the hold up at The Green on Park Place.
http://www.arounddublinblog.com/2008/12/speculation-about-dublins-whole-foods.html
Thx, John Z.
1:18 PM on June 24th, 2009
I have a serious concern about the weedy elements of West Dublin seeping into our East Dublin oasis. I'm not talking about people, more specifically bad architecture and poor planning. I mean, are we gonna end up with Bangkok lol or Copper Skillet in this Greens Center? Should we explore become out own city or perhaps building a moat at Daugherty?
3:19 PM on June 24th, 2009
In reference to the comment above…excuse me while I vomit.