EAH Housing to Develop Affordable Bay Area Project

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Emeryville, Calif.—The City of Emeryville has tapped nonprofit developer EAH Housing, an affordable housing specialist, to develop a new mixed-use affordable apartment property at 3706 San Pablo Ave. in the city. Construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2016.

The apartments will be a mix of one- to four-bedrooms and range from 670 square feet to 1,400 square feet. The property’s design will include elements for all ages, such as a child play center, young adult zen garden and rooftop sky deck overlooking the city. EAH chose the national firm KTGY Group Inc. to design the property.

According to the city, its goal is to produce a property with “family-oriented unit layouts, open space, community benefits, affordability and strong financing plans.” In keeping with the city’s initiatives, the project will also be environmentally friendly and achieve Build It Green and/or LEED Silver certification at minimum. The 86-unit development will incorporate a solar photovoltaic system, a community garden, and 7,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

To make the site more pedestrian-friendly and encourage bicycle use, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will fund realigned high-visibility sidewalks and improved landscaping along San Pablo Ave. The site is less than a mile from the MacArthur BART station and serviced by a number of bus lines.

Emeryville is in Alameda County, in a corridor between Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. The EAH/KTGY team won the job out of nine developers from across California who submitted proposals. EAH currently has a management portfolio of more than 100 properties in California and Hawaii for families, seniors, students and people with disabilities. KTGY designs residential properties, retail, hospitality, mixed-use and related specialty developments.