To Meet Housing Goals, California Cities Turn to Mall Redevelopment

“This week, the Daly City Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan to build 214 apartments on a piece of land previously occupied by the Burlington Coat Factory at the Westlake Shopping Center — home to a Target, Home Depot and DSW shoe store, in addition to dozens of smaller businesses.” The project would bring badly needed housing to the San Francisco Bay Area, reports J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“If it gets the green light, the project would be the second housing development in the pipeline at the Westlake Shopping Center. The owner, Kimco Realty, has already received approvals to build 179 apartments to replace a 55,630-square-foot retail and office complex at 10 Park Plaza Drive.”

According to the article, “The latest proposal comes as Bay Area cities are increasingly targeting sprawling shopping centers to help meet ambitious state-mandated housing goals,” with similar projects in the works in other area cities. “Like every municipality in California, Daly City is deep in the throes of updating its housing element, a once-every-eight-years exercise required by the state,” Dineen explains. The redevelopment of former commercial sites such as defunct malls is one way for California cities to meet their housing goals and boost housing construction with less resistance from the opponents that frequently fight increased density in residential neighborhoods.