Related California's Banner Year
Related keeps relatively quiet, but EVP Lydia Tan tells us 2014 is going to be its banner year in NorCal. The plan calls for 750 units--or seven projects--under construction this year. It just scooped up 75 units in 15 public housing sites from the Berkeley Housing Authority, which it plans to renovate under a $36M plan by December. (Construction got going this week.) By the time that project's wrapped up, she's hoping to start on 200 affordable units atop 10k SF of retail in Mission Bay. The team is also converting an old industrial site into a 316-unit mixed-use project in Potrero Hill.
Here she's joined by Donald Lusty, project manager on the Berkeley project. The basic homes already exist and the structural infrastructure is in good shape, she says, so Related's job is to replace older building systems, redo interiors, and install energy efficient windows. They have a similar project cooking in the city of Richmond with the Richmond Housing Authority. Related has come a long way in three years, when Lydia joined and opened its NorCal office. She came from Bridge Housing, where she headed statewide real estate activities as EVP for 14 years.
Related is one of the contenders bidding on Transbay's Block 8, which calls for a 550-foot residential tower--the area's tallest. Related is especially hungry for a taste of Transbay, having narrowly lost out to Avant on Block 9 and Golub on Block 6/7 (above). Third time's the charm. We assume Colin Kaepernick reads Bisnow, so that message is for him, too. Related is taking a hard look at Block 8 and hoping to come up with a compelling proposal. Its statewide resume is solid: 9,500 units, which includes The Century celeb-infused condos in LA (you might've seen its latest tenant on E!'s #RichKids of Beverly Hills).
