Planning Commission Supplemental Materials 11-12-25 (2)

State of California - The Resources Agency Primary# DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # Trinomial CONTINUATION SHEET Property Name: 4400 Black Ave Page 16 of 21 DPR 523K (9/2013) *B10. Significance (Continued): The establishment of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1950 and the construction of Interstates 580 and 680 in the 1960s spurred rapid suburbanization throughout the Amador-Livermore Valley. However, the area north of Pleasanton was mostly planted in hops until the 1960s, when light industrial developments – including a Volkswagen distribution center at the I-580/I-680 interchange and a cluster of publishers’ distribution warehouses south of downtown Pleasanton – changed the character of the area (MacLennan 2014:130). The San Ramon Village development, which in 1960 began constructing 4000 homes in Dublin, prompted Pleasanton to annex most of the land south of I-580 by 1971. Between 1960 and 1971, Pleasanton increased its size by over 700%; most of the new land was developed residentially (MacLennan 2014:124-127). History of the Project Area Aerial photos and topographic maps show that the project area was undeveloped until the early 1970s, when Pacific Telephone Company acquired the property (Fairchild Aerial Surveys 1939; Cartwright Aerial Surveys 1965; USGS 1906-1968). Plans for a 24,000 square foot call center building on the project area were drawn in 1971 by the firm J. Jack Bras and Associates. The building at 4400 Black Ave was completed by 1973 and was partially occupied that year (Pleasanton Building Permits). The new directory assistance center employed 109 operators – 96 hired locally – and served San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Richmond, Concord, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Danville, and parts of San Leandro (Daily Review 1974). Arnold Tira, a long-time employee at the call center, said that it mainly handled 411 calls, a number that people who did not have access to a phone book could call to get numbers they needed. The employees worked in shifts; at any given time, there were about 50 operators and several electricians on duty (Tira 2023). In 1993, 4400 Black Ave was listed for sale for $1.15 million (Oakland Tribune 1993). Although Pacific Telephone (later Pacific Bell, then AT&T) no longer owned the property, it continued to rent the building. In 2022, the building was used by AT&T as a training and dispatch center for telephone repair and service technicians (Cornerstone Earth Group). The building was still used by AT&T at the time of this report. Architect: J. Jack Bras J. Jack Bras (1929-) was a native of Oklahoma, who came to California with his family in 1936, fleeing the Dust Bowl in their Chevrolet and two-wheel trailer (Guthrie 2014). He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in architecture, and after a two-year stint in the Army, began working with an Oakland architectural firm. In 1959, he married Florence Louise Brichford; the couple resided in Oakland after their wedding (Oakland Tribune 1959, 1960). Bras later moved to Pleasanton, where he worked on designs for the Alameda County Fairgrounds, including a new administrative building, restrooms, storage area, and amphitheater (Oakland Tribune 1966, 1968; Contra Costa Times 1971). Bras designed a number of commercial projects in Pleasanton and was active in the community, serving as President of the Chamber of Commerce and on the Amador Valley High School Board (Daily Review 1969, Oakland Tribune 1985). One of Bras’s longest-running clients was Pacific Telephone/Pacific Bell, for whom he designed the call center at 4400 Black Ave in 1971. Bras worked with Pacific Bell from 1969 until 1991, when the company redesigned their hiring process to comply with new requirements to hire more minority and women-owned