SAN FRANCISCO-Avant Housing LLC, a joint real estate venture between AGI Capital, TMG Partners and CalPERS, recently broke ground on a $60-million 202-unit urban-infill apartment development at 1880 Mission St. in San Francisco’s Mission District. The soon–to-be-named development will be the largest class-A market-rate institutional apartment building in the area commonly known as “the Mission,” one of the oldest neighborhoods in the City, according to the developer.
According to Avant Housing, the Mission is the preferred destination for San Francisco’s young, hipsters and tech professionals. Leasing at the six-story development will begin summer 2012. The rental development will include 20% below market rate housing available to those making 55% of median income.
“1880 Mission is symbolic of ‘the Mission’s’ new draw for capital investment,” says Eric Tao, development principal at Avant Housing. “The first developments were either large affordable housing projects or typical smaller projects. Nothing institutional in size—larger than 150 units—for market-rate housing has ever been attempted here….until now.”
The project is the fulfillment of a journey begun nearly 10 years ago with obstacles including the insolvency of two prior developers, the passing-away of the original owner during the process and intense anti-gentrification friction in the neighborhood, according to Avant Housing. “Bringing this development to reality was fraught with challenges, yet it was all worth it,” Tao says. “We believe this is one of the best multifamily sites in San Francisco, and this project is a glowing testament to CalPER’s support of firms like Avant and their mission to develop urban-infill, mixed-use housing in the Bay Area.”
The original building on the site at 1886 Mission St. was built in 1906, right after the earthquake and fire destroyed several smaller buildings on the site. It was constructed for the Louis Roesch Printing Co. Since 2008, the buildings on the site sat abandoned until Avant Housing purchased the property in November 2010. Avant tells GlobeSt.com that it “spent about $11 million acquiring the property.”
Avant is the third developer to have 1880 Mission St. under contract, but the first to complete the deal, according to a prepared release. The 230,000-square-foot mixed-use project will provide much-needed workforce housing, says the release, including: 202 residences, a mix of studios; one-, two- and three-bedroom homes; and, penthouse lofts. Also included in the six stories of wood over concrete building is 7,502-square-foot of street-level retail space and 155 below ground parking spaces.
According to Tao, “The Mission location called for something different than the apartment complexes that have been springing up in SoMa and elsewhere in the city. Both have their appeal—some like the sleek, orderly look of Mission Bay, while other young professionals will pay the same rent to live in the vibrant, eclectic, sometime gritty urban melting pot of The Mission.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
