Carmel Partners Walnut Residences

A few years ago, Fremont, a city of 230,000 residents on the east side of the San Francisco Bay, made a bold move. They decided to become “strategically urban.” The community identified central areas that could evolve into more walkable neighborhoods with easy access to new homes, jobs, shops and transit.

Walnut Residences by Carmel Partners is transforming one of the City’s largest sites for infill development, right by the Fremont BART station (the Bay Area’s rail service to San Francisco, Silicon Valley, UC Berkeley, airports, and areas further east and north).

With MIG’s combination of site master planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering and community outreach, the 14-acre development will have more than 630 multi-family units and create true public spaces—even in the streets. It includes extensive walking and bike paths, a greenway and large linear park space in the center of the site, creative seating, play spaces, electric car charging stations, and a flexibly designed plaza space for yoga, performances, food trucks and community gatherings.

The site’s innovative green infrastructure includes bioswales, permeable paving and planters that clean and retain stormwater for use in site irrigation.