Bisnow Exclusive: Bill Witte Opens Up

Related California is historically mum on its development plans, but we got CEO Bill Witte to open up about some of S.F.'s biggest. He told us new details this week of two signature projects in what he calls the two most active high-density residential development areas of S.F. Related's Transbay Block 8 site—which, at 550 feet tall will be the largest and tallest residential tower in the Transbay area—is already entitled and now subject to design review, he says. Construction is expected to launch in 2016.

Related's other S.F. biggie is the Goodwill site in Midmarket, which we were the first to report on in May. The prime site at South Van Ness and Mission, which sits in a growing residential and tech office hub, is an interesting deal, he says, because Related is fee developing it on behalf of the city. The site will include a 460k SF office building to house several city departments, 550 or so multifamily residential units, and 20k to 30k SF of retail. Because of city involvement, there's a head start on the entitlement process with the planning department, he adds, and construction will kick off in a couple years. He also hopes to get a good-sized site in Potrero Hill entitled in the next few years.

He says his company has developed a portfolio that is pushing towards $2B of largely urban, high-density product. A great team helped build that pipeline, and now he's made two hires to execute on it as the company splits into two divisions (one for market rate, another for affordable housing). Greg Vilkin, above, a big fish who's got a lengthy resume in high density urban development (most recently at MacFarlane), was named prez of the newly formed Related California Urban Residential and will be based in S.F. And longtime Related California exec Frank Cardone was named prez of Related California Affordable, which has 3,000 units in the pipeline (he'll stay on as COO of Related California too and work in Irvine).

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's San Francisco Newsletters
Related Stories

Camden Property Trust Sells West Coast Portfolio, Clears $1.5B Target

Bringing Stability And Savings To CRE Insurance Through Working Layer

Former Arms Dealer Targeting Heartland Apartment Takeover Files For Bankruptcy

SEC Charges REIT, Its Founders With Alleged $152M Fraud Scheme

Miami's Condo Craze Has Developers Spending Millions On Sales Galleries

Slate, Hudson Cos. Picked To Develop Massive Queens Housing Project

Ryan Cos. Secures Permit For Austin's Sixth Street Redevelopment

Rapper Rick Ross Joins 670-Unit Miami Gardens Condo Project

How A New Financing Model Helps Spur More Mixed-Income Housing

Riverwards Group Secures Construction Financing For 155 Units In Olde Richmond

Mesirow Pays $132M For Midtown Luxury Apartment Tower

Integra Acquires Evacuated Broward Condo Complex Via Court-Ordered Auction