OCEANSIDE — Oceanside recently took another big step toward downtown redevelopment.
City Council unanimously approved development plans and conditional use permits for the Belvedere mixed-use project on Oct. 17.
The seven-story mixed-use project will include a 124-unit hotel, 90 live-work units, 8,357 square feet of retail/office space and two levels of underground parking.
The project will cover a one-block area bounded by Mission Avenue and Seagaze Drive and Horne Street and Clementine Street.
Downtown development manager Kathy Brann said a neighborhood meeting was held a few days prior to the council meeting and residents in attendance were on board with the revised plans that implement previously requested changes.
“The first level will have a pedestrian-friendly feel,” Shan Babick, associate planner, said.
The property will be landscaped with 32 trees, LED lighting will be used throughout and low lights will be used at street level.
Amenities include a pool and spa, tiered terraces and 4,500 square feet of meeting rooms.
Eco-friendly LEED and CAL Green building practices will part of the project. Roof rainwater will be filtered through planters before it makes it way into city storm drains.
“We’re honored to be part of the new era of downtown,” Hamid Nikkho, of Amidi Real Estate Group, said.
There were lots of kudos, but also some suggestions from residents who have seen several changes to the project’s building plans. Comparisons were made to surrounding architecture including the Oceanside Museum of Art building designed by Irving Gill and its central pavilion designed by Frederick Fisher.
“We should not have something that looks like ‘Plan B,’” Ruth Jameson, an Oceanside resident, said. “The overworked embellishments are not needed.”
The council stood in unanimous support of the project.
“I can’t imagine anything else on that corner after seeing this,” Councilman Jack Feller said. “This does look like ‘Plan A.’”
The $31 million project is expected to provide 150 temporary construction jobs and 270 permanent jobs. It is also projected to bring in an annual $600,000 in Transient Occupancy Tax, $500,000 in retail sales revenue and $300,000 in property tax.
