Emeryville officials are set to host the first in a series of public meetings to consider a proposed 54-story residential tower near the city's shoreline. The structure would be the East Bay's tallest building.

Slated for a nearly 4-acre lot near one of the city's busiest intersections at the corner of Christie Avenue and Powell Street, the development would include 638 apartments and tower almost 700 feet above the bay. The project would also include an adjacent 16-story office building, retail space and a half-acre public park, as well as six floors of parking.

The development would replace an existing one-story building that currently houses the Emery Bay Cafe and Allegro Ballroom.

To be allowed to build such a high structure, Onni Group — the Vancouver-based developer behind the project — would be required to offer at least 108 of the apartments (roughly 17 percent) at affordable, below-market rates.

If approved, the tower would be one of the tallest residential-only buildings west of Chicago, dwarfing Emeryville's current highest structure, the nearby 30-story Pacific Park Plaza.