| | Published March 1st, 2023
| Three-restaurant complex to be developed on old Bank of America site
| | | By Sora O'Doherty |  | | Rendering provided |
The Bank of America building in Orinda Village, which has sat empty for some years now, will be redeveloped to house three new restaurants with a shared raised deck overlooking San Pablo Creek and business offices on the second floor. The project, which was enthusiastically approved by the Orinda Planning Commission on Feb. 14, will be the new location of the business offices of Paymun, the real estate development firm partnering with Mo Mashhoon of Mash Petroleum on the new project.
Paymun will be moving from 25 Orinda Way to occupy the second floor at 31 Orinda Way, the site of the new project; 25 Orinda Way is in contract, recently sold to a food production company to be used as its corporate headquarters, according to Bahadour (Ben) Zarrin, Paymun's Chief Executive Officer. Although the existing building is only one story, a second floor is included in the plans for the new development.
Mashhoon and Zarrin, along with Ali Mashhoon, Mash Petroleum Senior Manager, recently met with Lamorinda Weekly to discuss the project. The three businessmen are excited by the prospect of a destination where they envision Orinda residents dropping by for morning coffee, lunch or dinner, and hanging out, enjoying the outdoor seating and visiting with friends and neighbors.
Although it was noted when the project was considered by the Planning Commission that under recent laws, the project does not require any parking, the property currently has 33 to 34 parking spaces which will be retained. Now that the project has been approved by the Planning Commission, the job moves into engineering and sanitation planning. The partners aim to submit final plans for construction soon and hope to begin construction this summer, with the site opening for business in 2024. They have already interviewed over 40 potential tenants for the three downtown restaurant sites and the remaining business offices on the second floor.
The Mashhoons and Zarrin all live in Wilder, and have completed a number of successful projects in Orinda. Zarrin has built a number of residences in Wilder, in addition to residences elsewhere in the Bay Area and commercial buildings in Stockton. Mo Mashhoon is the owner of Mash Petroleum and the company's headquarters in the Theatre District was extensively remodeled. Mahhoon also owns Mash Gas on Bryant Way in Orinda and won a Mayor's Award of Excellence in 2020. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA