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Developers explain 17-foot grade change and 10-foot retaining wall for Oakland Town Center
Summary
Project consultants told the ARB the site's steep topography (about a 17-foot fall) requires raised finished floors and a retaining wall near State Road 50, and the team pledged landscaping and articulation to reduce visual impacts.
Engineers for the Oakland Town Center told the Appearance Review Board that steep site topography and stormwater constraints drove building placement and the need for a retaining wall along State Road 50.
Brent Linsen of Kimley Horn explained the site falls roughly 17 feet from northwest to southeast and that stormwater routing requires upstream dry-pond pretreatment before flow reaches lower wet ponds. "There's at least 17 feet of fall across the site from northwest to southeast," Linsen said, and added that the retaining wall near the stormwater pond along SR 50 will be "about 10 feet tall" at its highest point. The team said landscaping and articulated facades will be used to reduce the wall's visual impact.
Board members raised concerns about how the grade and wall would affect street-facing building elevations and sightlines for nearby properties. The applicant acknowledged the retaining elements add cost but said the raised, internalized center will create a more intimate, pedestrian-oriented environment once built. Final materials, railing design and planting plans were left to subsequent engineering and landscape review stages.
