Sustainable Design incudes: Co-Working Loft, Café, Web Conference Room, Demonstration Kitchen, Amazon Package Lockers and More
Boulevard – the emerging masterplanned community in Dublin, California– has begun construction of its Rec Center, a modern social hub reflecting the community’s urban architecture while introducing innovative design concepts. At Sterling Street and Nugget Way, the approximately 14,500-square-foot facility is designed by San Francisco-based Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, known for architecturally advanced libraries and community centers.
The Boulevard masterplan is by Brookfield Residential and Lennar. It serves the demand for new homes in Northern California’s Bay Area with a planned 1,750 single- and multi-family homes.
The community design emphasizes elegant density within its neighborhoods, including pocket parks, pedestrian-friendly streets, an interior trail system, and accessibility to highways 580 and 680 and the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.
“After opening several dynamic neighborhoods at Boulevard, it is a thrill to break ground on the Rec Center,” said Brookfield Residential President Josh Roden. “Its attractive range of uses and experiences mirror the diverse energy of Boulevard’s residents and will become the social heart of the community.”
Rec Center Living Room, rendering by Group 4
Set within three larger buildings – plus a large central interior courtyard – the Rec Center will offer fitness rooms, a game room, a co-working space (The Loft), conference room, clubhouse, retail café, package lockers, demonstration kitchen, outdoor kitchen, indoor and outdoor lounge spaces, lap and lounge pool with cabanas, and firepits and double-sided fireplaces – all in a modern environment outfitted with the latest technology. The entire facility, including the pools and cabanas, is supplied with WiFi, and each cabana has AC power.
“Like a modern, welcoming hotel, the Rec Center displays sophistication and clean lines, but also warmth and comfort,” said Group 4 Architecture Principal Andrea Marie Gifford. “The cabanas, the double-sided fireplace, the variety of social spaces, plus the fabrics, furniture and finishes that are natural but popping with vibrant colors – all have a contemporary feel, reflecting a new Bay Area community thriving in proximity to Silicon Valley.”
The Loft Co-Working Space and Conference Room
Overlooking the Center’s living room and Café is a unique co-working environment, The Loft. It accommodates up to ten people and is adjacent to the meeting room that can be closed and reserved for events. It provides a “third place” beyond the home or office for those with alternative work patterns.
“This amenity is relatively unique among masterplanned communities,” said Gifford. “It wouldn’t work for every community in every city, but is a perfect fit for Boulevard with its proximity to BART and connectivity to the entire Bay Area. The many Boulevard residents who work in the tech and creative industries will naturally gravitate to The Loft.”
The adjacent conference room has full data and power capabilities, including interactive display screen for web-conferencing.
The Loft co-working space, rendering by Group 4
Package Lockers
Next to The Loft is a secured locker area for Amazon and other package deliveries. There is an adjacent secured storage room. Deliveries can also go to the Rec Center breezeways for 24-hour access.
Clubhouse Café
Group 4 worked with restaurant consultants to craft a flexible space that can evolve for different food and beverage uses. The design includes plumbing and power to support everything from a coffee house to a juice bar to actual pop-up venue for local restaurants.
Demonstration Kitchen
The Community Pavilion includes a large community room with demonstration kitchen. This accommodates multiple cooking and catering needs – everything from wine tastings to parties in conjunction with the adjacent meeting room. There is also an outdoor kitchen that can be accessed from a sliding glass wall.
Flexible Event Spaces
Multiple spaces can be reserved by residents for private uses. These include two fitness rooms, the living room on the first floor which can be sequestered and includes an outdoor room, the conference room, and various outdoor rooms, including the pavilion, pool lawn and two barbecue areas. The conference room and fitness rooms (all upstairs) have an outdoor deck that can also be reserved.
High-Tech Workout Rooms
The Rec Center’s two exercise and fitness rooms incorporate technology for interactive video conferencing or live streaming, suitable for everything from offsite instructors to virtual conferencing.
Sustainable Design
The Rec Center is a high-performance facility. Generously sized windows, open floorplans and volume spaces allow for energy-saving “daylighting” throughout much of the complex. The three pavilions’ roofs are sloped for optimal efficiency and shade. All the roofs are photovoltaic-ready. And with three separate pavilions, individual spaces can be shut down into “sleep mode” when not in use.
The Connected Community of Boulevard
Boulevard is by Brookfield Residential and Lennar. The masterplanned community was conceived with a specific homebuyer in mind: active, urban, connected, progressive. Its inviting design includes a network of pocket parks, pedestrian-friendly streets, an interior trail system, and convenient accessibility to highways 580 and 680 and the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.
Boulevard’s amenities emphasize urban wellness. Pocket park themes include The Lounge (an outdoor living room), The Playground (tot lot and play area), The Kitchen (with modern communal grill), and The Office (a unique outdoor workspace with electricity and WiFi). Boulevard abuts the Iron Horse Regional Trail, a scenic 32-mile regional park for hikers, cyclists and local equestrians. Also coming soon to Boulevard is a 30-acre community park
