VINEYARD

We are thrilled to announce the opening of Vineyard. This mixed-use property in Livermore encompasses a breadth of much needed resources, including 24 units of affordable housing, a resource center, and a commercial food service kitchen. The path from inception to the first day greeting residents and guests is what we at Gunkel Architecture believe community-focused design should be about, and we are grateful to be a part of this important new development.

Vineyard’s new life began in 2017 because of the site’s uncertain future. At the time, many faith-based and service organizations, lead by the local church on site, were deeply invested in this property and its use of helping individuals experiencing homelessness by providing critical services and hope, but the property was at risk of sale and redevelopment. The City of Livermore stepped in and brought together like-minded organizations to explore maintaining the site’s use. After considering a combination of new construction and renovation, the idea of an entirely new development began to take shape.

Over many months, our team met regularly with more than a dozen stakeholders, representing the existing church on site, developer HCEB, Livermore’s housing and planning departments, Open Heart Kitchen, the cities of Dublin and Pleasanton, and faith-based and service organizations operating on the site. Principal Brianne Steinhauser facilitated the stakeholder meetings, beginning with logistical questions of what services were on site, and utopian questions of how each person or agency imagined the future of the site and their potential role in it. An overall vision emerged, affirming that the existing property's use of providing critical services to the area’s most vulnerable residents was a Tri-Valley resource worth preserving and building upon.

Together, the group explored the future programming potential and how different elements were related to one another. The idea was loose initially, but three uses became clearly defined: affordable housing, a commercial kitchen for Open Heart Kitchen, and a resource and service center. Collectively we worked through various concepts of sharing spaces. Members compromised on their individual needs and embraced the concept of co-working and co-sharing of spaces and resources, enabling more organizations to participate and make a positive impact.

Vineyard’s design reflects a sensitivity to serving the various layers of community. The site layout weaves together shared functions and promotes layers of social interaction, while gently separating private residential units from the resource center and common use spaces. The overall massing, colors, and aesthetic help destigmatize the function of the site development while blending in with the characteristics of Livermore and the neighborhood. For example, a prominent corner element containing a large multi-purpose room, the site’s most used and dynamic space, punctuates the building at a busy intersection while the primary massing of the main building appears as small-scale and intimate row houses. The site and buildings, private and public entries, open space, and parking respond sensitively to serve people while maintaining privacy, security, and a sense of home.

Many passionate people, including our own staff, contributed significant time and energy to see this innovative project through. A number of individuals in those stakeholder meetings have expressed gratitude for how closely aligned the initial vision is to their experience walking through the property now. And we are honored to be nominated for a Gold Nugget Award as a "Best Supportive / Transitional Housing" project. Most impactful, however, is to see Vineyard in action and to observe residents and guests using the site as it was intended and beyond. We are moved that individuals who had recently been experiencing homelessness are making Vineyard their home and community, and that the project is a safety net for others who are in need of support, compassion, and the wrap-around resources to see a better future for themselves.

OPEN HEART KITCHEN

In other exciting news, Open Heart Kitchen’s (OHK) new commercial food kitchen is now operating and serving all community members in need of a free meal five days a week. The kitchen is an anchor tenant of the new Vineyard development and has been a key organization in making the property’s vision a reality.

OHK’s main production kitchen is designed to be an integrated but functionally independent component of the Vineyard Resource Center. OHK addresses the complexities of preparation, staff and volunteers, deliveries, sorting, and serving on a compact and multi-use site. It is accessed primarily through the main lobby but has additional entries and exits facilitating the dynamics of operating the site. The self-contained commercial kitchen opens into the Resource Center multi-purpose room, allowing it to serve and provide dining for all guests.

Seeing the working result of this close collaboration and how the kitchen is being used within the larger development, it is remarkably close to what was envisioned almost seven years ago. Gunkel Architecture is also working with OHK on their new food bank, a 19,000 sf facility, which will be the first-ever large-scale food redistribution effort in east Alameda County. OHK’s presence within the property and within the larger Tri-Valley area serving individuals facing food insecurity is clear and powerful. Our team is delighted to be a part of this amazing organization’s vision to build a world without food insecurity.