Bozzuto, Kimco Break Ground on Bay Area Mixed-Use Project
This is Bozzuto's first ground-up development on the West Coast.
Bozzuto and Kimco Realty have teamed up for the second time to create The Chester at Westlake, a 214-unit mixed-use development located in Daly City, Calif. The partners have begun construction on the project, which will be part of a shopping center. Slated for completion in winter 2027, it will be Daly City’s first major predominantly market-rate apartment community in more than 15 years.
When completed The Chester will be part of the Westlake Shopping Center, one of the earliest planned shopping centers in the U.S. and a longstanding community hub in the Bay Area. Daly City and its neighborhoods were built around Westlake, establishing it as the city’s central retail and commercial core. Kimco, a REIT and leading owner of open-air, grocery-anchored and mixed-use properties around the country, has owned and operated Westlake since 2002. Working with Bozzuto, a developer and manager residential communities, The Chester will advance Kimco’s strategy of transforming its retail centers into vibrant mixed-use destinations. It is also Bozzuto’s first West Coast ground-up development.
“This is an ideal time for a project like The Chester. We’re seeing strong demand for market-rate housing in the Daly City area, and there’s currently very limited new supply due to ongoing market constraints,” Devon Hastie, vice president of Bozzuto Development Co., told Multi-Housing News. “The combination of high demand and low inventory creates a unique window of opportunity for thoughtfully designed mixed-use developments that can meet both residential and community needs.”
Kimco and Bozzuto’s first joint venture was Coulter Place, a mixed-use development adjacent to the historic Suburban Square shopping center on Philadelphia’s Main Line. That project will feature 131 apartments along with retail uses. It is scheduled to open later this year.
J.P. Morgan is providing construction financing for the project, which is targeting LEED Gold certification. Bozzuto is the lead developer and Bozzuto Management will be the property manager. Other development team members include BDE Architecture, Kimley-Horn for civil engineering, Vida Design which is drawing up interiors, JETT Landscape Architecture & Design and Palisade Builders, which is serving as the general contractor.
The Chester highlights
Located on nearly 2 acres at 99 Southgate Ave., The Chester will be a seven-story, 250,000-square-foot building with nearly 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. It will have a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, 70 percent of which will have private balconies and terraces.
The multifamily property will have more than 13,000 square feet of amenities, including two landscaped courtyards, a clubroom, kitchen and grilling stations in addition to water features a lounge and dining areas off the west courtyard. The east courtyard will feature a covered lounge and fireplace. Other amenities include a fitness center and yoga room, coworking spaces and personal focus areas, a communal bar with lounge seating and a rooftop sky lounge with panoramic views. The Chester will also have a two-story, hospitality-inspired lobby.
READ ALSO: Top Priority for Renters: Simple and Practical Amenities
Daly City is located just south of San Francisco and less than 1 mile from the Pacific Ocean, Interstate 280 and the BART rail service. It is about 9 miles from San Francisco International Airport.
Active multifamily investors
Bozzuto has been active this summer on the acquisitions front, as well. Last month, a joint venture between the firm and Invesco Real Estate purchased Ashton at Dulles Corner, a 454-unit multifamily property in Herndon, Va. that is owned by Greystar and Ivanhoé Cambridge.
It was the second purchase made in the firms’ joint $330 million investment program, which has a $1 billion deployment capacity. The fund targets communities built in 2000 or later that have 150 or more units, located in markets including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. In July, the firms kicked off the partnership with the purchase of Enders Place, a 220-unit property in Orlando, Fla., from TA Realty.
Focused mainly on developing properties in recent years, Bozzuto began investing in properties again in 2024 with the $45.5 million purchase of a 132-unit property in Arlington, Va. One of the largest apartment management companies in the nation, Bozzuto has an operations portfolio of 130,000 multifamily units, as well as 4 million square feet of retail space. The company has developed, acquired and built more than 62,000 homes and apartments since 1988.
