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Politics & Government

New Sketches Show Plans for University Village Whole Foods, Senior Housing

The Sustainability Committee looked at the architectural plans, completed in September, Wednesday night.

A presentation to the about proposed development offered an update Wednesday night on what many say is much-needed senior housing in Albany, along with the west side's only planned grocery store. 

No action was taken at the meeting, though committee members and members of the public asked a number of questions about the scope of the project and plans for how it would be sustainable.

Albany planner Jeff Bond said the city is getting close to releasing a new draft of the Environmental Impact Report that details the affect the project is likely to have in the neighborhood.

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Bond said an audio recording of the Nov. 18 meeting would be available to the public. 

The grocery segment of the plans is known around town as the "," though the drawings describe the business simply as "Market."

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A University of California, Berkeley, representative confirmed Wednesday that UC has signed a lease with Whole Foods Market to run the space.

The market, over 2.5 acres, is designed to have a total square footage of 55,000, with 211 parking spaces (including 100 in a garage and 107 in a lot).

The other half of the project is a mixed-use development, also on 2.5 acres, including 185 senior units on five stories. It includes about 14,600 square foot in retail space and would have a 240-space garage.

The university said last night that it has not found a builder for the housing, but plans to target developers familiar with this specialized type of housing.

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