Updated on December 3, 2024. Originally published on August 24, 2022.
After seven years in the making, the Northgate Town Square project in San Rafael was unanimously unapproved on December 2, 2024! This represents a historic win for Marin County: the project has been in the works since 2017, and is one of the biggest multifamily projects in Marin County in decades.
With the City Council’s green light, Northgate Town Square will convert a dated suburban mall into a beautiful mixed-use project. It will include an open-air concept and community gathering place and more than 1,400 badly-needed new multifamily homes for city workers and residents in Marin County—including 143 affordable homes—, adding to the housing supply in a resource-rich area.
In August 2022, Greenbelt Alliance was excited to officially endorse MerloneGeier’s Northgate Mall redevelopment project in San Rafael, through our Climate SMART Development Endorsement Program.
Sustainable Features
In addition to increasing the housing stock, the Northgate Mall proposal further prioritizes our climate SMART—Sustainable, Mixed, Affordable, Resilient, Transit-Oriented— criteria in a number of ways.
The development prominently features green infrastructure and commits to an all-electric design. In terms of water efficiency, the project plans to use recycled greywater for landscape irrigation, utilize a dual plumbing system, and make significant EV charging, battery storage, and solar capacity available on-site. The site is also less than 0.5 mile from the nearest SMART (Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit) station, integrates new bike lanes throughout the project, and includes a 9,000 sq. ft bicycle center with a repair station and bike parking.
According to census data, more than 86% of the workers in San Rafael commute in from outside the city. In Marin County, more than 65% of the workforce commutes in from outside the county, mainly from Richmond and Alameda, due to high housing prices driven by a severe shortage of available homes. The Northgate Mall project will help improve this trend, allowing more city and county residents to live where they work.
We are excited to see MerloneGeier’s vision for the Northgate Mall site come to fruition with the support of the community. We look forward to supporting more projects like these throughout the Bay Area.
Greenbelt Alliance’s Climate SMART—Sustainable, Mixed, Affordable, Resilient, Transit-Oriented— Development Endorsement Program goals call for fully protecting the Bay Area’s greenbelt, directing growth within existing communities, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and accomplishing both in a way that equitably benefits all Bay Area residents. Our Endorsement Program supports projects that advance the right kind of development in the right places. By promoting climate SMART development, we can create thriving, resilient neighborhoods with ready access to transit and housing choices for all of the Bay Area’s people. Find out more about our Endorsement Program here. Feel free to contact our team for more information and support.
Header Photo: Northgate Mall website
