OCEANSIDEOCEANSIDE — North County Transit District’s board approved exclusive negotiating agreements Thursday with developers proposing to build a total of more than 500 affordable apartments at two Sprinter train stations in Oceanside.
One project would place 420 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at the station at Melrose Drive, where the district owns 2.51 acres at the heart of a rapidly growing residential and commercial area. The developer is a partnership of USA Properties Fund Inc. and Waterford Property Co.
The other is a mix of 98 loft, one- and two-bedroom apartments at the district’s 2.14-acre station at Rancho Del Oro Boulevard, near an industrial area and the city’s sprawling El Corazon Park. That project is proposed by S.V.D.P. Management Inc., also known as Father Joe’s Villages.
“These are really great developments,” said board member and Del Mar Councilmember Tracy Martinez. “I hope they both will be successful.”
The two sites are among 15 stations on NCTD’s 22-mile Sprinter route between Oceanside and Escondido. The district is pursuing mixed-use development at several of its Sprinter and Coaster rail stations as part of efforts to boost revenue, increase ridership and meet regional housing requirements.
Both projects would be 100 percent affordable housing. Part of the revenue would be from long-term property leases with the developers. Rent on the Melrose Drive property would be $100,000 annually increased by 3 percent each year. The Rancho Del Oro site would be $27,000 annually increased by 2.5 percent a year, according to a staff report.
Asked by a board member if the rent should be higher, District CEO Shawn Donaghy said the agency probably could get more by leasing the land for other types of development, but that’s not the district’s mission.
“When you factor in what it means for ridership (and) some of the amenities we are going to get … the agency felt like this was the best course of action,” Donaghy said.
“We are maximizing our revenue in that we are getting improvements to the property that are specific to transit,” he said. “There is a community value that you can place on affordable housing and mixed-use development.”
One board member pointed out that mixed-use projects are not always successful. In some cases, retail properties have been left empty for years.
More information on the leases and potential commercial uses will be presented to the board next year when negotiations are complete, staff members said.
“We want to make sure that any development that goes onto our sites is compatible with the surrounding community,” said Chief Development Officer Tracey Foster.
