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HERCULES:

FROM DYNAMITE TO AN EXPLOSION OF NEW SHORELINE HOMES

Hercules Town Center, as viewed from above

For many years, Hercules was organized around one of the world’s largest dynamite manufacturing plants. In the early 1970’s, the Hercules Powder Company plant closed, leaving about 20,000 residents living in the eight square miles of Hercules and lingering remnants of dynamite manufacture. Due to a series of set-backs that drained the City’s budget, including the downturn economy that affected every community, the very survival of Hercules was threatened. But, an ambitious plan launched by the City staff promises to make Hercules into a town with broad-based appeal, not just to Hercules residents, but to Bay Area residents.

Homes Selling Like Hot Cakes

Single-family homes in this waterfront setting begin selling at $450,000 for a modest 1500 square foot home and rise to as high as $650,000. Despite these prices, the homes are being snapped up like hotcakes, with a majority of the planned homes already pre-sold! In addition to single-family homes, plans call for hundreds of live-work units and apartments and at least a dozen affordable townhouses. All told, the new town will offer approximately 1100 residential units.

Located across 167 acres, this impressive project is under construction. The homes that are completed follow an old style Victorian design, complete with porches, big windows, and lots of charm.

A model home from Hercules

New Urbanism

Using a set of principles, which call for a "New Urbanism," citizens of Hercules drew pictures and provided comments that led to the final plan. The resulting development would adhere to the basics of walkable streets, real civic spaces, minimal evidence of automobiles, vibrant retail spaces, diverse commercial use, and a wide selection of housing options.

Bixby Company was chosen from among about 20 bidders to develop the town. According to John Bauke, Bixby Company’s Project Manager, his company’s strength was a good match for the city. Specifically, Bixby specializes in smart-growth, which includes working with underutilized property. In this case, the land parcel, a Brownfield site, had undergone a Superfund clean-up that brought it up to residential standards.

WTA Board President Charlene Haught Johnson visiting Richmond’s Mayor Irma Anderson

"New urbanism requires greater time, effort and money. But, the resulting product is worth more and the public are willing to pay more for a quality product," Mr. Bauke explained. "In fact," he said, "profits from this project are far exceeding expectations."

Hercules live-work near train station

On a fast track to final completion by 2007, the town’s vision is quickly taking shape in the form of a new mixed-use district. The site is currently abuzz with bulldozers and planners toting architectural renderings. According to the City Manager, Mike Sakamoto, those bulldozers have been hard at work clearing the land and creating, in various phases, the four distinct subdivisions that comprise this pedestrian-friendly, commercial Town Center. Mr. Sakamoto looks forward to living in his own house that is under construction on the site. He said, "This is an exciting time to be living in Hercules. "

Vice-Mayor Balico described the process of designing the Historic Town Center of the City of Hercules as a planning process that benefited from innovative and extensive public input. "Through a series of public outreach meetings, the people of Hercules helped plan a town that looks like something they’d want to live in," he said.

Hercules mixed-use building with cafe

Water Transit-Oriented Development (WaTOD)

The new Hercules Town Center is located on the Eastern shore of the San Pablo Bay. Like many waterfront communities, such as Sausalito, where the town center is located right at the shoreline, Hercules is ideally suited for water transit-oriented development. Of Bay Area ferry terminals, Sausalito boasts of the highest number of riders who walk to the ferry terminal. Similar to Jack London Square’s layout in Oakland, railroad tracks in Hercules separate the developing Town Center and anticipated parking garage from the assumed location of a ferry terminal.

A new Amtrak station along the shoreline of Hercules is slated to open in 2005, adding to the City’s transit-oriented possibilities. Hercules planners envision a pedestrian bridge crossing the tracks for easy access to a potential ferry terminal. Currently the only other transit serving Hercules is WestCat, a bus service that transports passengers as far as Crockett on one side and the Del Norte BART on the other side of Hercules.

Some of the funding for the ferry terminal may come out of sales tax reauthorizations going to the ballot in 2004 for a funding stream to begin in 2007. The Water Transit Authority has predicted that initial ferry service to Hercules could begin in 2013, but, depending on a variety of factors, it could happen even sooner.

RICHMOND FERRY SERVICE: DÉJÀ VU?

Former Richmond ferry rider, Judy Wells refuses to let the termination of ferry service from Richmond stop her from enjoying the ferry.

Judy lives on her boat in the Richmond Marina and commutes by ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco, where she works. As for why she would go to the trouble of driving to Larkspur so that she can continue to ride the ferry, she said, "Commute time is my quality time. I look forward to riding the ferry. It affects my quality of life." She explained that she first started taking the ferry during a BART strike and has continued to do so about four times a week.

Discontinued in October 2000, Richmond ferry service was short-lived. Her theory on why the Richmond ferry failed? "It wasn’t well marketed," she said, adding that "It was in trouble too early in the game."

The Water Transit Authority has recommended a faster, more competitive boat for Richmond ferry service, as well as an integrated marketing campaign and convenient landside connections. In support of this plan, the Richmond City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Irma Anderson, recently passed legislation asking that a portion of the Contra Costa County sales tax reauthorization be reserved for Richmond ferries.

Special thanks for

renderings of Hercules

to the following:

 

The Bixby Company

Sargent Town Planning

John Reagan Architects

Opticos Design