Big housing project in San Ramon at oil titan’s old HQ comes into view

SAN RAMON — A big housing development envisioned as a key feature of a mixed-use neighborhood that would sprout on the site of Chevron’s old headquarters in San Ramon is beginning to come into view.

Sunset Development, the principal developer and owner of the Bishop Ranch neighborhood in San Ramon, has formally proposed the project that would be built on the south side of Bollinger Canyon Road just east of Interstate 680.

Orchards, a mixed-use neighborhood on Bollinger Canyon Road near Interstate 680 in San Ramon, proposed on a 92-acre site that had served as the headquarters for Chevron. (Sunset Development Co.)

All told, the new neighborhood, which is called Orchards, would consist of 2,510 residences, along with restaurants, shops and commercial sites next to and near Bollinger Canyon Road, according to Sunset Development.

The latest filing proposes the development of 426 residences in a project called Orchards Neighborhood, which would rise on the south end of the mixed-use neighborhood.

These homes would represent the first phase of the massive redevelopment of Chevron’s headquarters complex.

For roughly 40 years, the development site served as the headquarters of energy giant Chevron.

“Sunset Development purchased the property with the intention of guiding its transformation from an office campus into a vibrant mixed-use district,” the real estate development and investment firm stated its filing with the city of San Ramon.

In 2022, Sunset Development paid $174.5 million to buy the 92-acre property from Chevron. Sunset also landed a loan of $157 million from Chevron at the time of the purchase.

For several months, Sunset Development has been meeting with an an array of city political and staff officials, as well as residents of the Inverness neighborhood on the south boundary of the proposed development.

“A land plan evolved for a walkable mixed-use community with a diversity of housing choices, a rich network of open spaces and amenities, and a shopping and entertainment district that complements City Center Bishop Ranch located immediately across Bollinger Canyon Road,” Sunset Development stated it the proposal it filed with city officials.

Once fully built out, Orchards would feature an array of residential and commercial elements. Among the elements:

— Apartments, flats, townhomes, single-family homes and mixed-use units.

— At least 125,000 square feet of new retail, commercial and entertainment uses.

— A retail boulevard that would lead to a central park. The park would total 2.5 acres.

— Preservation of the site’s heritage oak trees.

The first phase of the project would be one of three districts that are anticipated for the Orchards mixed-use neighborhood.

Here are the details of the three districts in Orchards:

— A mixed-use neighborhood with residences, ground-floor retail, restaurant, entertainment and commercial uses.

— A multifamily district with apartments, condominiums and senior housing or affordable housing.

— A lower-density neighborhood of single-family townhomes and detached homes connected with a network of streets, alleyways and pocket parks.

The mixed-use Orchards projects are part of the transformation of Bishop Ranch from its decades-long mission of being an office park in a suburban setting.

The office and business park is becoming San Ramon’s central business district and downtown.

“Bishop Ranch is evolving into a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use district combining residential,commercial and office uses,” Sunset Development stated in its filing with the city.

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