Oceanside Transit Center redevelopment wins council approval

The Oceanside Transit Center redevelopment in California is moving ahead after the Oceanside City Council approved the next stage of plans.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The decision advances a major project within NCTD’s broader transit-oriented development strategy and its wider Oceanside transit-oriented development efforts, and, as reported by Railway Age, the plans will proceed to the California Coastal Commission for final review in 2026.

NCTD CEO Shawn M. Donaghy says the council’s vote allows the agency to keep pushing forward on improvements to the customer and employee experience at the Oceanside Transit Center while also bringing much-needed housing and economic development to the area. He notes that, through this transit-oriented development strategy, NCTD wants its stations to offer a more welcoming introduction to its services and to better serve the communities around them.

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Oceanside Transit Center redevelopment project and TOD strategy

The Oceanside Transit Center Redevelopment Project is being delivered by Toll Brothers Apartment Living, which was selected as the developer after a public procurement process. Toll Brothers will oversee construction and then manage the site once it is in operation, making the Toll Brothers Oceanside Transit Center project an important element in how private partners support NCTD’s Oceanside transit-oriented development goals.

Under the current plan, nearly $100 million in private investment will be directed into this public transit asset. The Oceanside Transit Center redevelopment project provides for a dedicated customer service center, a park-like Station Plaza, upgraded public waiting areas and a new public parking structure. As outlined on the official Oceanside Transit Center project website, the bus island will be relocated to allow direct bus-to-rail connectivity, and NCTD expects passenger walk times to be reduced by roughly 50% compared with the existing configuration.

Housing, hotel rooms and affordable units in Oceanside

Beyond the station upgrades themselves, the Oceanside Transit Center housing and retail plan adds a substantial mix of uses around the hub. The redevelopment will include 170 hotel rooms, nearly 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 547 residential units. Of these homes, 15% are reserved as affordable housing units in Oceanside for low- and moderate-income households. By combining housing and retail at the station, the project is intended to create a gateway to downtown and open new economic development opportunities for the city.

As part of the same programme, NCTD plans to relocate its headquarters from its current site to the new Oceanside Transit Center. This move will free the Mission site for another phase of redevelopment, where an additional 206 mixed-income residential units are planned, including 31 units designated for low- and moderate-income households, according to NCTD officials.

Multimodal transit hub in North County

Today, the Oceanside Transit Center functions as a key multimodal transit hub in North County, connecting passengers to San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County and inland North County cities. As previously noted by Railway Supply, Oceanside Transit Center is an important transportation hub where multiple rail and local transit services intersect, and this redevelopment is intended to build on that role. It is the only station where SPRINTER hybrid rail, COASTER commuter rail, Amtrak intercity rail, Metrolink commuter rail, BREEZE fixed-route bus services and LIFT paratransit all come together, underscoring the multimodal transit hub in North County that this project is designed to enhance.

A wider NCTD transit-oriented development program

The Oceanside Transit Center redevelopment is the first of 11 planned station redevelopment projects across NCTD’s rail network. Taken together, these developments are expected to deliver about 2,341 housing units, including 884 affordable homes, along with 275 hotel rooms in coastal areas and an additional 55,800 square feet of retail space. This package of projects follows a policy adopted by NCTD’s board in 2016, which directs the agency to pursue development of select real estate assets in order to increase transit ridership, reduce reliance on automobiles and expand access to jobs and affordable housing.

Looking ahead to California Coastal Commission review in 2026

Toll Brothers Apartment Living was chosen in 2020 as the developer for the Oceanside site through a competitive procurement process. With Oceanside City Council’s latest approval now in place, the Oceanside Transit Center redevelopment is on track to proceed to a California Coastal Commission review in 2026 for final consideration of the project.

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