Republic Urban to Build Largest BTR Project in Bay Area

The Bay Area was largely left out of the surge in build-to-rent single-family houses that has swept across the nation in recent years, as thousands of BTR units were built across the Sunbelt, from Atlanta to Dallas to Phoenix.

A transit-oriented project that will rise in Solano County is about to change that, and no, it’s not the new city that a bunch of Silicon Valley billionaires have proposed to build in the eastern part of the county, which sits between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Republic Urban Properties is planning to build the largest build-to-rent development in the Bay Area, 400 single-family homes that will rise on 19 acres in Fairfield near the Capitol Corridor train station.

Republic acquired the 19-acre site, which is two blocks from the train station in northeastern Fairfield, for $8M in a deal brokered by Kidder Mathews. The project expects to break ground in the spring.

The homes planned for the development, which will be known as the Aviatrix, will range from 1,200 to 2,100 SF. The Aviatrix will provide space for military families from nearby Travis Air Force Base, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Republic Urban Properties President Michael Van Every told the newspaper the company is planning to build up to 1,000 BTR homes per year in California. The report said the firm is in talks to acquire other sites in Solano County as well as in the North Bay and South Bay.

“These are homes designed for people who want to have three bedrooms, but they want to rent,” Van Every said.

The average rental unit in Solano County currently goes for $2,200 per month, according to RentCafe. Republic’s BTR units, which will be significantly larger than average rentals, are expected to be priced at about $3,100 per month for a two-bedroom unit and up to $3,968 per month for a four-bedroom.

The median price for a single-family home in Solano County is $607K, which translates into a monthly mortgage payment at current interest rates of nearly $4,000 on a house purchased with a 5% down payment.

The BTR development at the Aviatrix will feature amenities including a clubhouse, dog parks, sports facilities, a gym and walking trails.

There were 120,000 BTR single-family homes built in 2022, a 55% increase over 2019. The rise of BTR units have been fueled by an overall increase in the size of homes that are built for sale; the average new home in the US is now 2,800 SF.