Dougherty Valley Community Center in Windemere, San Ramon

The U. S. Census shows San Ramon is a moderately-sized community that grew

at a faster rate than both the County and the Bay Area over the last decade.

Between 1990 and 2005, San Ramon’s population grew from 25,300 to 51,027.

As the Dougherty Valley builds out (11,000 homes), this pace of growth will

accelerate rapidly over the next 10 years. Bay Area Economics (BAE) reports

that the estimated household income for San Ramon indicates an affluent

community, with a median house income of $109,900. The 2000 Census shows

that 24.6% of San Ramon employed residents work in management positions.

Census also indicates that almost 53% of San Ramon residents 25 years and

older have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

The plans for the Dougherty Valley include two neighborhood shopping centers,

a community center, a 40,000 square foot library (opened in fall 2005), and a

165,000 square foot Diablo Valley College campus (phase 1 due to open in fall

2006). The developers have completed approximately 6,500 residential units

and anticipate a build out schedule of 1,000 units per year. This development

combined with other new units identified in the City’s General Plan will double

the City’s households

San Ramon offers a high quality of life, with clean and safe neighborhoods, an

extensive series of parks and trails, multiple recreation opportunities sponsored by the City, and an attractive natural setting. The San Ramon Parks and

Community Services Department provides a wide variety of cultural, sporting

and educational events and programming for all segments of the San Ramon

community.

In 2004 the Parks and Community Services Department processed

over 34,000 registrations for its award-winning programs and activities. A

well-educated professional population and an excellent public school system

further enhance the City’s appeal. The BAE reports that San Ramon’s

demographic profile, rapid growth and concentration of baby-boomers and

younger households with high incomes suggests demand for home-oriented

stores, specialty goods, apparel, and entrepreneurial growth is high.

The 28,500 square foot Dougherty Station Community Center and the 11,600

square foot Dougherty Station Library are located within the “Dougherty Valley

Village Center” located on Bollinger Canyon Road and Watermill Court within

the new communities of Windemere and Gale Ranch in San Ramon. At

completion, the Dougherty Valley development will entail 11,000 homes

(roughly 33,000 in population), 18 parks, 5 schools, and a 41.3 acre retail

component referred to as the Village Center.

The Village Center is located in the heart of Dougherty Valley and encourages

the convergence of pedestrian, vehicular and transit linkages. The project will

be developed in three phases over a period of ten years from north to south. It

is envisioned that the Village Center will eventually consist of 528,100 square

feet of community serving civic and retail uses. The first phase of the Village

Center will include the Dougherty Valley Community Center and Library,

Community College and daycare facility. The second phase of the Village

Center will include an expansion of the Community College, expansion of the

library, 56,000 square feet of retail and 62,000 square feet of residential and

the third phase will include 205,000 square feet of retail, residential and office

space.

Prior to the second and third phase (projected to begin in 2 to 6 years), the

closest retail to the Dougherty Station Community Center is 4 miles both to the

south and southwest located on Alcosta Blvd. and Village Parkway, and 4 miles

to the west located at Bollinger Canyon Road and Alcosta. In the fall of 2007, a

neighborhood shopping center will be built 2 miles to the northwest located at

Bollinger Canyon Road and Dougherty Road.

The Community Center is 28,500 square feet in size and houses the Police

Substation (4,500 square feet). It is located on the south side of the site and

opens up to the interior for pedestrian access and gathering.

The 2-story Dougherty Station Community Center is a “V-shaped” building with

a three-story rotunda in the middle housing a 90-seat lecture/performing

space; a fully equipped kitchen with demonstration area for classes; a large

multi-purpose room with sport court flooring and 25-foot high ceilings, making

it multi functional for sports and health and fitness classes as well as seating

for 200 for social gatherings; a toddler/preschool room; a lounge/games room;

a dedicated teen activity room; a dance studio; an art room; enclosed

registration area; two dedicated conference/meeting rooms; concession area

and recreation staff offices.

In the future (3 – 6 years), the Community Center will be located near retail

opportunities, making this an attractive space for after-school activities,

especially with the new middle school, Windemere Ranch Middle School

(opened fall of 2005) directly across Bollinger Canyon Road from the Dougherty

Station Community Center.

The Police Substation within the Community Center will provide support

services to the neighborhoods, and will be open during regular business hours.

Support services similar to those at the main Police Offices on Camino Ramon

will be provided here at the Dougherty Valley Sub-Station. Those police

services include youth services and diversion, investigation, police reports,

traffic citation write-offs, and most other police services you come to rely on

living in San Ramon. The Sub-Station will also house the Dougherty Valley beat

officers who patrol the Dougherty Valley, making it much more convenient for

residents to access police services.

The Dougherty Valley Library is planned as a cooperative joint-use operation

with Diablo Valley College/DVC with their 165,000 square foot facility adjacent

to the Community Center and Library. The library will be built in two phases.

The first phase to be built will be the City portion of the library consisting of

11,600 square feet. The second phase of the library will expand the facility by

approximately 30,000 square feet. However, the eventual expansion at the

library will not take place until the College District’s second phase commences,

which the District anticipates will be anywhere from five to seven years based

on student enrollment and state funding. At completion, the Dougherty Valley

Joint Use Library will be more than 40,000 square feet in size.

The Dougherty Valley Library has been designed to incorporate new technology

and efficient service with a raised floor for writing, an automated check-in

system, self-service request books, and express checkout. It is designed to be

very flexible so when the community college library is added, the areas for

children and teens can be expanded.