A nonprofit developer has filed plans for a mixed-use complex at the Marinwood Plaza shopping center in northern unincorporated San Rafael, and the application is being reviewed by the Planning Division of the Marin County Community Development Agency.
BRIDGE Housing Corporation of San Francisco applied for the development at the corner of Miller Creek Road and Marinwood Avenue, just west of Highway 101. It would include a mix of commercial and residential buildings spread over about five acres.
Once BRIDGE has provided complete details and planners have reviewed the full application, the project will undergo environmental review, said Planning Manager Jeremy Tejirian. After environmental review, the project would advance before the Marin County Planning Commission and Marin County Board of Supervisors for public hearings. The planning process could take a year or more before a decision on the project is made by the Board of Supervisors. A complete set of project plans is available on the County website at www.marincounty.org/marinwood.
“The community has been speculating about the specifics of the BRIDGE proposal for quite a while,” said District 1 County Supervisor Susan Adams, a neighbor of the plaza. “Now finally, we can all evaluate the issues of concern and the merits of this project.”
BRIDGE’s plans include a request for a master plan, a precise development plan, a lot line adjustment, a lot merger and a right-of-way abandonment. Plans call for the relocation of an existing liquor store, but the Marinwood Market would remain in place.
The existing shopping center consists of four parcels that would be reduced to three under BRIDGE’s proposal. The middle portion of the property includes the Marinwood Market, which occupies approximately 15,000 square feet of space, and an additional 18,000 square feet of commercial structure that would be demolished. Marinwood Market would remain at the plaza under the new plans.
The northern portion of the property would include three new buildings, two of which would be one-story commercial buildings and one of which would be a three-story mixed-use building. Ten market-rate apartments would be in the upper stories of the mixed-use building. The commercial space may be used for a retail shop, a restaurant or another business. Some additional improvements would be made to the middle portion of the property near Marinwood Market. The southern portion of the property would include 72 units of affordable housing within three three-story residential buildings.
BRIDGE Housing Corporation is listed as the project sponsor and nonprofit developer, and Marinwood Plaza LLC is listed as the land owner. BRIDGE was formed in 1983 when a major anonymous grant was given to the San Francisco Foundation to spearhead new solutions to the worsening shortage of affordable housing. BRIDGE would be purchasing the north and south portions of the property, and Marinwood Plaza LLC would retain ownership of the middle portion and the Marinwood Market.
Comments on the project may be submitted directly to the Planning Division throughout the process. Interested parties may subscribe to be notified of project updates via email on the County website at www.marincounty.org/marinwood.