Bay Area Housing Floating Up Around Waterfront
While the Bay Area struggles to meet its housing needs, many cities are tapping into one of the region’s best amenities to add more housing: its massive bayfront. Cities have partnered with developers to redevelop underused waterfront into thriving mixed-use communities that could add thousands of much-needed housing units. Many of the projects also will add additional ferry terminals and result in a different kind of transit-oriented community.
Check out some of the largest waterfront housing developments in the works below:
Pier 70
Developer: Forest City
Housing Units: 1,100 to 2,150 units with 30% affordable
Forest City broke ground in May on the first phase of the mixed-use Pier 70 community. During this phase, the developer will build new infrastructure, rehabilitate historic buildings, add parks and open space and open the waterfront to the public.
The first phase also will create 665 units of market-rate and affordable housing as well as retail and office space, including 50K SF of production, distribution and repair space. Parks and initial buildings are expected to be completed by 2022.
Brooklyn Basin
Developer: Signature Development Group and Zarison Holdings Group
Housing Units: 3,100
The Brooklyn Basin site covers 64 acres of the Oakland Estuary and will include 30 acres of parks lining the waterfront, 175K SF of retail and a new marina with over 200 slips. The first apartment community, Orion, is expected to begin pre-leasing its 241 units in early 2019. The site is expected to have a mix of apartments, including over 400 affordable units, townhouses and condos.
San Francisco Shipyard and Candlestick Point
Developer: FivePoint
Housing Units: 12,000
Following ongoing issues with potential contamination at its Hunters Point/Shipyard development, FivePoint has begun shifting its focus to developing Candlestick Point. Earlier in the year, the company said it is reconsidering developing a 635K SF shopping mall and may instead focus on adding more commercial space across both sites, bringing total commercial up to 6M SF. Candlestick is expected to have over 7,000 housing units and a 200-room hotel, both of which were previously approved.
Mission Rock
Developer: Tishman Speyer in a JV with the San Francisco Giants
Housing Units: 1,400 units
The Giants partnered with Tishman Speyer to help build the mixed-use community next to AT&T Park. The Giants were selected as master developer in 2010 through a public-private partnership with the Port of San Francisco. The project will include 250K SF of retail and up to 1.4M of office, and it will revitalize Pier 48. About 40% of the housing units are earmarked as affordable.
Alameda Point (Site A)
Developers: srmERNST, Trammell Crow Residential, Cypress Equity Investments, Trumark Homes and Eden Housing
Housing Units: 800
The first phase of Alameda’s $1B redevelopment project began in May and will lead to a mixed-use development at the former Naval Air Station, which closed in 1997. In addition to the housing, commercial and retail, the 68-acre master-planned Site A will add a ferry terminal, bus service and additional infrastructure as well as 15 acres of public space and parks. The first residential units are expected to be completed in 2019.
The city of Alameda is acting as the master developer of this public-private partnership and working with Alameda Point Partners, a collective of several developers and investors, to redevelop one parcel at a time. The entire 900-acre site is expected to generate thousands of new housing units over the next decade.
Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island
Developers: Lennar Corp., Kenwood Investments, Stockbridge Capital, Wilson Meany
Housing Units: 8,000
Infrastructure and demolition work is already well underway at Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island to allow for the construction of 2,100 homes and a 500-room hotel during the project’s first phase. The transit-oriented project will result in a new ferry terminal, a 400-slip marina and could have self-driving shuttles by 2020. About 25% of the housing units will be below market rate. The community previously received LEED ND Platinum Plan certification, one of the highest ratings for a development.
Potrero Power Plant
Developer: Associate Capital
Housing Units: 2,700
While the 5.3M SF project is expected to be mostly housing, the developer plans to add a 220-room hotel, about 600K SF of commercial, over 645K SF of life science and over 107K SF of retail space as well as a series of parks along the waterfront.
India Basin
Developer: Build Inc.
Housing Units: 1,575
Build Inc.’s mixed-use waterfront community will provide a mix of apartments and townhomes linked to 6 acres of parks. The community also will have about 290K SF of commercial space, which could change depending on market demand.
