NORTH BOUND PLATFORM
SMART : SAN RAFAEL STATION
THIRD STREET
SOUTH BOUND PLATFORM TRASH/ UTIL. 150SF EQUIP. RM.
ELEV.
RR
Whistlestop
RR
LOBBY
PARKING
(22 SPACES/ 2 H/C)
LOBBY
(575 SF)
CAFE
(525 SF)
(1725 SF)
LOADING/ BUS STOP
TAMALPAIS AVENUE BIKE LANE
00
N
NORTH
1
5
10
15
20 FT
SITE PLAN & STREET LEVEL PLAN DATE: 10.23.12
< 11 Down by the station stop has embarked on a bold plan to redevelop its property into a center that would continue to offer its Whistlestop services for older adultsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and provide 50 units of affordable housing for seniors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We see many older adults coming here, and they love spending the day here,â&#x20AC;? says Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehir. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then they have to return to these places where they are lonely and isolated. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always thought we should be able to build some housing where older adults who want to give up their cars can be near a transit center and be able to walk downtown.â&#x20AC;? That transit-oriented concept was inherent in the minds of SMART planners for its ďŹ rst stages. And transit-oriented development has gained considerable interest among regional planners, despite critics who say the concept of transit-oriented development is the wrong way to go. O
O
O
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F ORSHER + GUTHRIE # #
Tamalpais Avenue
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SanRafael, California
The design of the new building will mitigate part of that parking challenge. The ďŹ rst ďŹ&#x201A;oor, according to Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehir, will feature a relocated entrance for the Jackson Cafe, which passersby will see. The ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor also will allow for 25 to 27 parking spaces. And it will accommodate the Whistlestop shuttles as they drop off and pick up passengers. Also on
Whistlestop
the ground ďŹ&#x201A;oor will be two lobbies, one for the residences on the second through fourth ďŹ&#x201A;oors, and one for a new active aging center on the top ďŹ&#x201A;oor. The residences will be 600-square-foot one-bedroom units. A two-bedroom unit will be home to a resident manager. The active aging center on the top ďŹ&#x201A;oor will face west,
T/R
UTILITY
STAIRS
RR
ELEV. TERRACE
0
RR
UTILITY RM.
STUDIO
STUDIO
STUDIO
STUDIO
STUDIO
OFFICES
(500 SF)
(500 SF)
(500 SF)
(500 SF)
(500 SF)
(1200 SF)
STORAGE
STAIRS
HC
UP
FOURTH STREET
(1150 SF)
HC
STORAGE
KITCHEN
giving it a view of Mount Tam. The ďŹ fth ďŹ&#x201A;oor also could serve as space for community use and other nonproďŹ t groups, notes Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehir. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are going to have a nice top ďŹ&#x201A;oor with community rooms and classes and some open garden space, so the residents and the typical day visitors who we have at Whistlestop will have access to a beautiful active aging center, and they can come in and have classes and activities that we offer now.â&#x20AC;? In the notice of intent to ďŹ le a legal claim, Whistlestop said it had access to about 40 parking spaces, and the 23 places that SMART would eliminate would mean the nonproďŹ t could no longer meet its parking demand. No one says the challenge of ďŹ nding enough parking spaces is an easy task, but the conversation has turned from adversarial to cooperative. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehir says his organization has reached out to other nonproďŹ ts in similar situations and determined that senior housing such as the type envisioned in the Whistlestop project can meet parking demand by providing one-half of a parking space for each residential unit. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practical because many older adults in this type of living arrangement have stopped driving. The 25 to 27 parking spaces now in the plan meet that need. And the ability of Whistlestop shuttles to drive essentially into the building to load and unload passengers takes care of that requirement. But parking still remains a challenge, especially in the transition period when SMART begins construction but before Whistlestop has ďŹ nished its new building. Whistlestop is looking around its immediate neighborhood to determine if it can ďŹ nd some alternative parking, at least on an interim basis, which would mean it could continue to have its current approximately 40 spaces. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And we have
STAIRS
ACTIVITY HALL
SOUTH LOBBY
(2500 SF)
NORTH LOBBY
BOARD RM
WHISTLESTOP GARDEN
(500 SF)
TERRACE
ELEV.
RESIDENTIAL COMMONS
ROOFTOP GARDEN (3300 SF)
(600 SF)
ACTIVE AGING FLOOR PLAN | LEVEL 5 SCALE: 1"= 10'-0"
O K
12 PACIFIC SUN JANUARY 4 - JANUARY 10, 2013
BD LV
JANITORIAL/UTILITY
BD
BD
K
LV
BD
BD
LV
LV
BD
BD
LV
BD
LV
MANAGER'S SUITE
LAUNDRY
BA
BA
LV
STAIRS
LV
ELEV.
BA
K
K
BA
BA
K
K
BA
BA
K
BA
BA
K
K
BA
BA
K
K
BA
BA
K
K
K
STAIRS
NORTH LOBBY
TERRACE
THE KEY COMPONENT of the Whistlestop Renaissance Project, as the organization is calling its plan, will be to complement its active aging center with the on-site affordable housing. The concept of active aging has been a key element of the Marin Senior Coordinating Council, an organization started in 1954 by volunteers who got together to look at the issues facing older adults in Marin. Whistlestop has been working quietly with the architectural ďŹ rm of Forsher + Guthrie for the past nine months to develop a conceptual plan for the new Whistlestop building. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hehir says it applies the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current land-use and zoning policies, and the concept works, although parking will remain a challenge.
SOUTH LOBBY BA
K
BA
K
BA
K
BA ELEV.
LV
BD
BD
LV
LV
BD
BD
LV
LV
BD
BD
LV
LV
BD
BD
LV
LV
BD
READING ROOM
RESIDENTIAL FLOOR PLANS | LEVELS 2-4 SCALE: 1"= 10'-0"
N
NORTH
2
0
5
10
15
20 FT
UPPER LEVEL FLOOR PLANS DATE: 10.23.12
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F ORSHER + GUTHRIE # #
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Tamalpais Avenue SanRafael, California
Whistlestop