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February 23, 2023 <br /> <br />Mr. Mark Shorett <br />PDA Program Manager <br />Association of Bay Area Governments <br />Metropolitan Transportation Commission <br />375 Beale Street Suite 800 <br />San Francisco, CA 94105 <br /> <br />RE: Letter of Support- MTC Priority Development Area (PDA) Planning Grants 2022-23 <br />Bay Fair TOD Precise Plan and Specific Plan Amendment applications for the City <br />of San Leandro <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Shorett, <br /> <br />B3 Investors purchased the 42-acre Bayfair Center site in Sub-Area 1 of the Bay Fair TOD <br />District in the summer of 2022. Since that time, we’ve worked to assess the mall’s potential for <br />adaptive reuse with an emphasis on establishing a transit-oriented employment center adjacent <br />to BART. In the past nine months, we’ve met with numerous developers, prospective tenants, <br />urban design and architecture firms to better understand the site’s opportunities. This month we <br />closed the interior of the mall and are actively undergoing renovations to suit a new generation <br />of employment tenants seeking proximity to transit. Achieving the vision of the Bay Fair TOD <br />Specific Plan will require overcoming access challenges to connect our development to BART <br />so employees, residents, and visitors can safely walk or bike to transit. <br /> <br />We’re writing to express strong support for the City of San Leandro’s PDA Planning grant <br />applications to complete a Bay Fair TOD Precise Plan and amend the Bay Fair TOD Specific <br />Plan accordingly. This planning work will address key access challenges and advance the <br />redevelopment of the site through comprehensive stakeholder engagement and preparation of <br />detailed development plans and parcelization plans to define future blocks for vertical <br />development. The designs and cost estimates for district-scale infrastructure that the Precise <br />Plan would provide are necessary to catalyze development of the TOD. The Precise Plan <br />process will bring together property owners and key stakeholders to inform necessary <br />infrastructure and multi-modal circulation network plans to unlock the TOD’s development <br />potential. <br /> <br />We look forward to continuing to work with our neighboring property owners and the City on <br />this regionally significant effort to establish the Bay Fair TOD. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br /> <br />San Leandro JV LLC / B3 Investors <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Peter Lennon