H
ines and American Realty Advisors have agreed to incorporate affordable housing into their urban village project in Downtown Dublin. The Houston-based developer and Los Angeles-based real estate investor plan to build up to 164 affordable homes, with an additional 1.1 acres reserved for up to 170 affordable senior homes at 7200 Amador Plaza Road. This development is part of the Dublin Commons project, which aims to redevelop a 26-acre Dublin Place Shopping Center into a Main Street-style village of 1,500 homes, 500,000 square feet of research labs, and 275,000 square feet of new and existing shops and restaurants.

    The City Council has requested that Hines and American Realty add more units to the $1 billion project to help meet Dublin's state-mandated housing goal of building 3,719 homes, 61% of them affordable, by 2031. The joint venture has agreed to add 60 moderate-income units and 24 low-income units, as well as dedicate a 1.1-acre parcel on the north side of the project for the city to build between 80 and 170 units of affordable senior housing.

    The senior housing development site has not been approved yet, but the joint venture is expected to provide it to the city before the first residential building permit is issued. The city will then recruit an affordable housing developer to build the project. Hines will return to the city's Planning Commission with an updated plan for the affordable homes, which must be approved by the Dublin City Council.

    Kevin Fryer, who represented Hines, mentioned that affordable and market-rate units cost roughly the same to build, making it challenging for highly affordable projects to be financially viable. The first phase of Dublin Commons includes a 33,000-square-foot retail building where the shopping center's 15 shops and restaurants could temporarily relocate during redevelopment.

    Last month, the Planning Commission refused to approve the structure, stating that it resembled a strip mall and did not comply with city design standards. However, the City Council reversed this decision, allowing the project to move forward.