Planning Board Approves Alameda Food Bank Warehouse Design

On July 22, the Planning Board approved the design review for the Alameda Food Bank ’s planned addition of a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to Building 607 at 677 West Ranger Avenue. While the existing facility will be renovated into a new community food market serving the City’s most vulnerable, the planned food storage warehouse will address increased demand and enable the Food Bank to prepare for emergencies affecting the larger community.

Background

The Food Bank has been operating at Alameda Point since the spring of 2020, when it moved its distribution center from a trailer at Atlantic Avenue and Wilma Chan Way to a larger warehouse at 650 West Ranger Avenue through a lease agreement with the City. The new facility allowed the Food Bank to increase its distribution significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In November 2023, the Planning Board unanimously approved a development plan and use permit for the Alameda Food Bank to develop a permanent community food market at 677 West Ranger Avenue. The Food Bank now has a lease with a purchase option agreement and intends to buy the property from the City.

The Food Bank eliminated a previously planned commercial kitchen during the design process. Instead, the client shopping area will increase by 20%. Executive Director Teale Harden explained this was due to the Food Bank’s increasing number of clients and a determination to focus on the Food Bank’s core food distribution mission.

Harden said, “These days, we’re seeing more dual-income households, families with small children, and seniors on fixed incomes coming in to access our services. Each year, we’re serving about 8.5% of [Alameda’s] residents.” She added that the new facility would allow the Food Bank to serve those in need today while also preparing for an emergency such as COVID-19 “that may impact all of us.”

New facility features

The new facility, which is entirely self-funded, will support the Food Bank’s mission by creating a more dignified experience for those seeking food assistance. It will increase the size of their food pantry and warehouse and will improve and enlarge waiting areas. An old mechanical yard will be converted to an outdoor patio for employees, and a covered waiting area will be added for clients who arrive before opening hours. The existing building will house offices along with administrative and waiting areas, and the addition will house the warehouse.

The prefabricated 35-foot-tall corrugated metal warehouse will follow Planning Department guidelines for new construction in the Alameda Point historic district, including a horizontal orientation, continuous horizontal bands, and stacked windows. The original building and the addition will have separate roofs, but the interior will operate as one building.

The project will provide new landscaping, including shade trees in the parking lot and a landscape buffer between the sidewalk and parking lot to soften borders and provide clients some privacy while attenuating their impact on the neighborhood. The site will include 48 parking stalls, six of which will be ADA-accessible. The site is conveniently located near AC Transit bus stops.

The entire building will be painted using colors approved within the Historic District, primarily “Brite Red” and “Linen White.” The Food Bank anticipates commissioning a mural on the east elevation facing Pan Am Way. The mural will be subject to approval by the Public Art Commission.

Board decision

The Planning Board voted to approve the design review for the warehouse addition with the following conditions:

• The Food Bank works with planning staff to ensure that delivery trucks do not impact adjacent Head Start student drop-offs and pick-ups, and that Head Start staff can still park in the vicinity.
• The paint design is revised to make the original building and the addition more distinct.
• The approval includes the Board’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)  findings to address public comment regarding CEQA concerns.

Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post . Contact her via karin@alamedapost.com . Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen .

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