Lincoln Landing groundbreaking in Hayward set for early next week at former Mervyns site

HAYWARD, Calif. (BCN) - A developer will break ground Monday on a retail and housing project at the former Mervyns headquarters site in downtown Hayward.

The Lincoln Landing development will house more than 80,500 square feet of retail space and 476 market-rate apartments, according to the city.

The 11.5-acre site at 22301 Foothill Blvd was home to Mervyns before the company went bankrupt in 2008.

Since rents will be market-rate for the development's housing units, the developer, Dollinger Properties of Redwood City, has contributed nearly $1.7 million to the city's housing trust fund for the creation and preservation of income-restricted housing affordable to moderate, low and very-low income households, city officials said.

The Lincoln Landing project will be the sixth residential or mixed-use residential development to break ground on Foothill and Mission boulevards in the last two years.

It's the first major project in one of Hayward's five Opportunity Zones - federally designated areas established under the 2017 tax law intended to spur investment through relaxation and exemption of capital gains taxes.

Hayward's Downtown Specific Plan, adopted in May of this year, provides for up to 3,427 new housing units and 1.9 million square feet of space for retail, entertainment, office and other nonresidential uses.

Mervyns, founded by Mervin Morris in San Lorenzo in 1949, filed for bankruptcy in July 2008.

Before it shuttered, the company operated 176 stores in seven states and had more than 20,000 employees.