IT’S A LOFT. IT’S A TOWNHOME. IT’S A BRAND-NEW

LIVE/WORK/RIDE CONCEPT IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

Iron Horse Lofts Brings Urban Style

to Walnut Creek Transit Village

September 27, 2001—For the first-ever live/work development in Contra Costa County, architects David Baker FAIA & Partners have combined the best of two design styles: loft and townhome.

Iron Horse Lofts, a 54-unit development adjacent to the Pleasant Hill BART station in Walnut Creek, looks like a compact cluster of three-story side-by-side townhomes. But inside, each home opens up into expansive loft-like space, filled with light from tall clerestory windows. And each floor plan allows optimal separation of living, sleeping, and working space—without sacrificing the creative flexibility of loft design.

“The loft concept is new to Contra Costa County, while the townhome concept is familiar,” explains architect Baker. “We designed a home that has the privacy and comfort of a townhome but adds the exiting architectural spatial experience of the urban loft.”

The fusion is evident from the outside. Stucco exteriors are painted in a bold palette of red, white, black, and charcoal that accentuates the dramatic sawtooth and pitched rooflines. Entry stairs are industrial cast steel with steel tube-and-cable guardrails. But there’s no mistaking this property for a South of Market loft development. A private road gives residents access to their one- or two-car garages, and mature valley oaks and redwoods surround the development along with newly planted lemon trees. Just beyond the BART station, the 23-mile-long Iron Horse Regional Trail invites hikers, bikers, and horseback riders to explore the landscape between Concord and Dublin. (The trail, built on abandoned Southern Pacific right-of-way, will eventually extend 33 miles.)

City shopping, theater, and restaurants are just a BART ride away. Residents can stroll to the station and be in downtown San Francisco in approximately 30 minutes.

Each townhome/loft is efficiently designed to maximize its living space. Eight-foot doorways and eleven-foot ceilings create a soaring sense of interior volume; oversized laminated windows, trimmed with wood molding, flood each room with light while muffling BART and traffic noise. Living areas open to concrete-tile decks for outdoor entertaining.

All of the floor plans are available in a choice of sawtooth- or pitched-roof style. Sawtooth-roof lofts have intriguing zigzag ceilings on the third floor; the top-story ceilings in pitched-roof lofts rise to an impressive 15 feet.

Version 1.0 features a master suite on the light-filled third floor. The galley-style kitchen has maple cabinets with stainless hardware and stainless-steel appliances.

Version 2.0 has two sleeping areas, two full bathrooms, and an attached, private two-car garage. The gourmet kitchen has maple cabinets and laminate countertops with aluminum trim, and is large enough to accommodate a custom-built kitchen island.

Version 2.5 has one sleeping area and a bonus room with a private entrance, perfect for an office or teenager’s bedroom. The dramatic master suite on the third floor features a spacious bathroom with double sink and separate toilet area. The living area on the second floor includes a galley kitchen with maple cabinets. A private one-car garage is attached to the loft.

Version 3.0, the largest loft, has three sleeping areas—one with a separate ground-floor entrance—three full baths, and a private two-car garage. The top floor has two separate bedrooms; the master suite has a fully wired niche for the custom-built entertainment center. The gourmet kitchen is equipped with stained maple cabinets, pillar-style stainless steel cabinet pulls, and granite countertops. The second-floor living area has a dramatic open plan that allows creative space shaping.

A wide range of design options, many exclusive to Iron Horse Lofts, allows buyers to express their creativity. A custom entertainment center has been designed to fit the Version 2.0 or 3.0 master bedroom; a mobile work island is available for the 2.0 or 3.0 kitchen. A mobile room divider—desk on one side, dresser on the other—can be used to define and partition any sleeping area.

Teaming with David Baker to create Iron Horse Lofts is Emeryville-based Holliday Development, which has more than 10 years’ experience constructing live/work spaces in the Bay Area. Holliday Development award-winning projects have included San Francisco’s Clocktower, 601 4^th Street, and the Marquee Lofts as well as the 140-loft Emeryville Warehouse, which won a 2001 Gold Nugget Award at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.

To visit Iron Horse Lofts, take I-680 to Treat Blvd., head east on Treat, left on Oak Rd., and right on Las Juntas Way.  The sales office is currently open on Sundays from 12-5pm and the Grand Opening is scheduled for mid October.  For additional information, please contact the sales office at 925 945-6555 or visit www.ironhorselofts.com.