Oceanside approves swap of resort rooms to residences in 8-story Seagaze undertaking

Oceanside has accredited the swap of 64 resort rooms to 64 studio residences, bringing the full to 179 residences in an eight-story constructing proposed for a one-third-acre vacant lot on the downtown nook of Seagaze Drive and Nevada Road.

Residents broadly opposed the undertaking when it was accredited in January 2022, saying it was ugly, too tall, and had too little parking. The Metropolis Council raised the identical points once more Wednesday, however stated, because the council typically does for residential improvement, that there’s little it will possibly do due to state legal guidelines supposed to encourage the development of extra housing and unanimously accredited the change.

The brand new model may have the identical architectural design, with every condo to be about 300 sq. toes. Due to the change, the variety of models reserved for low-income residents is elevated from 12 to 18, and the variety of parking areas is diminished from 153 to 149.

“That is what occurs when the state density legal guidelines grant these waivers,” stated Councilmember Ryan Keim. “We now have models with no parking areas. It’s very disappointing, to place it mildly.”

The parking will likely be in a five-level storage that’s a part of the constructing, together with 45 racks and 5 storage lockers for bicycles. Entry to the storage will likely be from an alley between Seagaze and Mission Avenue. The bottom ground contains 1,581 sq. toes for a leasing workplace and industrial, meals service or retail house.

The Seagaze undertaking is taken into account a transit-oriented improvement as a result of it’s close to bus traces and inside a half-mile of the Oceanside Transit Heart. Due to the situation, some residents might not want vehicles.

The undertaking initially was accredited in 2022, when it was required to incorporate town’s minimal of 10 % on-site reasonably priced housing. The town elevated the minimal to fifteen % final yr, however the change doesn’t have an effect on previous functions.

Initially, the highest two flooring had been to be a resort. The developer, Bryan Elsey of Manhattan, Kan., switched the resort rooms to residences as a result of he was unable to get development financing for the resort, stated Elsey’s consultant, Kelly Kanaster of the Lightfoot Planning Group in Carlsbad.

“Financing for the resort is totally different than for the residences, though it’s all the identical constructing,” Kanaster stated.

Councilmember Eric Joyce backed some residents who informed the council the constructing ought to have extra reasonably priced housing. Joyce stated he want to see 50 % required within the Seagaze undertaking.

Kanaster stated the developer has utilized for grant cash that, if accredited, would require the undertaking to be 100% reasonably priced housing, although no additional particulars had been out there.

Oceanside has one different all-affordable condo undertaking, Greenbrier Village, underneath development and anticipated to open this summer time. That undertaking, on Greenbrier Drive simply off Oceanside Boulevard and east of Interstate 5, has 50 studio residences, 9 one-bedroom residences, and one unit reserved for a live-in supervisor.

Tasks just like the Seagaze and Greenbrier developments assist Oceanside meet its state-mandated objectives for reasonably priced housing that’s restricted to low-income households.

The Seagaze developer has stated the small residences, even at market-rate rents, are supposed to offer properties for working individuals like registered nurses, academics and even Marines. They’ll dwell in a downtown space the place they’ll stroll to close by jobs, eating places and points of interest.