Fremont approves plan for 111 new affordable apartments near BART

FREMONT — A six-story apartment complex offering 111 affordable units is expected to be built close to a planned future BART station in Fremont’s Irvington district.

Maracor Development earlier this month received the city zoning administrator’s approval to construct the complex on adjacent parcels at 41829 and 41975 Osgood Road. The apartments will be available to people who earn roughly 30% to 80% of the area’s median income

The two parcels total 1.37 acres and each is currently occupied by a house that will be razed .

The Fremont City Council approved a $6 million loan in April to help support the project because it helps the city meet its regional affordable housing goals. It’s located in a “transit overlay district” of the city, within walking distance of the future Irvington BART station and within a quarter-mile of bus stops, according to a city staff report.

“We want to put high density projects near transit and this project definitely qualifies,” city planner Mark Hungerford said Monday.

The complex will feature 112 units, with one reserved for a building manager, in five stories above a parking level. The units will be 50 studios, 32 two-bedroom apartments and 30 three-bedroom apartments, as well as a roughly 3,900-square-foot courtyard.

The bulk of the apartments, 64, will be reserved for people earning as much as roughly 60% of the area median income, which translates to about $82,200 a year for a household of four people, according to current federal and state income guidelines.

In addition, 23 of the apartments will be for people earning up to 80% of the area median income, 12 for those earning a maximum of 50% of the median income and 12 others for those making 30%.

Although the area is zoned for a maximum of 70 units per acre, state law AB 1763 allows a “density bonus” for projects that are deemed completely affordable.

State law that encourages affordable housing also allows the city to let the developer build only 72 parking spaces and 10 motorcycle spaces, fewer than otherwise permitted by city standards.

The apartment complex will be located roughly 200 feet from the southern edge of the future Irvington BART station, which is set to be built near the corner of Osgood Road and Washington Boulevard.

The long-planned station isn’t expected to be ready until 2026. It’ll largely be funded by $120 million from Alameda County Measure BB, which voters approved in 2014, and by $2 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Regional Measure 2, according to BART.