Greenbelt Alliance is thrilled to endorse the Modera development project in San Rafael. In alignment with the City’s vision for a walkable and revitalized downtown, the developer Mill Creek Residential is proposing a 213-unit apartment building in the heart of the city with almost 10% of them (18 units) designated as affordable low-income apartments.
The Modera is in line with Greenbelt Alliance’s climate SMART—Sustainable, Mixed, Affordable, Resilient, Transit-Oriented—development criteria in several ways. Keep reading to learn how!
Connection to Transit and Amenities
The development will be built near the Fourth Street corridor and be a 3-minute walk from the San Rafael Transit Center. There will be easy access to the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit as well as Golden Gate Transit and other bus lines.
Flanked by nearby shopping centers, residents will have access to a variety of grocery and dining options, as well as the development’s built-in mixed-use amenities—including co-working spaces, a fitness center, and an elevated garden courtyard.
The project will not only provide affordable homes and be transit-oriented but it will also highlight sustainable features, including:
- Energy-efficiency and all electric;
- EV charging infrastructure for 40% of parking spaces;
- Landscape with drought-tolerant plants;
- And have 124 bike parking spaces.
To address high flood risk in the region and ensure the building’s resilience, the developers elevated the structure in their design to place all building facilities, especially parking, above-ground.
A metrics comparison based on GreenTRIP—a tool created by Transform that models traffic and greenhouse gas impacts of residential projects in California—underscores the project’s environmental benefits:
- 2,253 fewer miles driven daily compared to the Marin County average.
- 35% fewer GHG impacts daily compared to the Marin County average.
- 9% less parking use daily compared to the Marin County average.
Greenbelt Alliance believes that the Modera project will provide much needed SMART, higher-density housing in San Rafael. We are proud to give this project our endorsement! We hope its approval will inspire cities in Marin and around the Bay Area to redouble their efforts to grow in more sustainable ways.
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.
