The 6 Projects Bringing The Most New Housing Units To The Bay Area

Nearly 10,000 apartment units are under construction in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to Berkadia’s Quarterly Construction Pipeline Reports, a slight increase compared to previous years.

A report from the Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office earlier this year stated that 10% of the city's housing supply is sitting empty, but the new units will deliver into a tightening market — multifamily occupancy was 96.9% in Q1, according to Berkadia's Q1 Report Card for 2022, up from 93.2% in Q1 '21. 

The East Bay is seeing the bulk of development activity. Berkadia said Oakland and other East Bay cities have 6,150 units under construction, almost double that of San Francisco's 3,440 total units underway. 

In theory, that could change: San Francisco has over 12,000 planned units — projects that are actively engaged in the development permit approval process. That number is nearly double the just over 6,000 units under consideration in the East Bay.

But it is difficult to move projects from planned to underway in San Francisco. Developers have lamented the regulatory hurdles faced in San Francisco required to get projects off the ground, and have expressed concern that development interest will filter more heavily into the East Bay and other metros as a result. 

Many of the projects have dedicated some percentage of units to affordable housing, but the need is still greater than planned supply. The San Francisco Planning Department's Q4 2021 Housing Development Pipeline report noted that of the 69,000 units — single-family and multifamily — in the pipeline at the end of the year, 19% could be classified as affordable housing. 

Per Berkadia’s reports, Bisnow has identified six of the largest developments by unit count underway in the Bay Area to keep an eye on.

6. TL 361

Address: 361 Turk St., San Francisco

Unit Count: 240

Project Started: Oct. 19, 2020

Projected Completion: May 31, 2022

Submarket: Market Street

Cost: $100M

TL 361, a two-building mixed-use development from Forge Development Partners and Bridge Investment Group, will contain 240 micro-units and is targeted at the workforce housing segment of San Francisco. The property will also contain 3K SF of retail space on the ground floor.

Tenant eligibility will be income-restricted to what is described as “workforce income levels” for 51% of the units. Twelve percent of the units will have qualifying incomes at approximately $32K per year, controlled by the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. Thirty-nine percent of the units will require a qualifying income of $75K per year, with a maximum of $80K per year. The remaining 49% of the units will be available at market rate, with a starting income of $82K per year.

The two buildings for the development will be at 361 Turk St. and 145 Leavenworth.

While the development is one of the largest in terms of unit count in San Francisco according to Berkadia’s report, as the units are considered micro-units, it’s also one of the denser developments in the pipeline. The units average 230-280 SF, but the trade-off in space comes with an affordability atypical for the Bay Area.

5. Mission Rock Building F

Address: Third Street and Mission Rock Street, San Francisco

Unit Count: 255

Project Started: April 13, 2022

Projected Completion: Oct. 31, 2022

Submarket: Eastern San Francisco

Cost: $2.8B 

The Mission Rock Building F, owned by Tishman Speyer and the San Francisco Giants, is a 23-story mixed-use facility clocking in at 310K SF with 255 apartment units. The development is part of a larger Mission Rock build-out, with multiple buildings that, once fully completed, will contain 1,200 units, 1.7M SF in office space and between 150K SF and 250K SF in retail space. Groundbreaking for Building F was in April, while the overall project started in August 2020.

The project will be a housing boon to the continually life sciences-dominated Mission Bay district of the city. Additionally, 40% of the 1,200 prospective units will be offered as affordable to low- and middle-income individuals or families.  

4. Oakland Waterfront, Parcel J

Address: 37 Eighth Ave., Oakland

Unit Count: 378

Project Started: Nov. 10, 2021

Projected Completion: Nov. 30, 2023

Submarket: Downtown Oakland  

Cost: $1.5B across all phases

This eight-story building in the Brooklyn Basin near Downtown Oakland is part of a larger development in the area from Signature Development Group.

Parcel J will contain primarily one-bedroom units; 190 units will be single-bedroom, followed by 93 studios, 79 two-bedrooms, six two-bedroom townhomes and 10 three-bedroom units. Sizes will range from 607 SF to 1,330 SF.

Brooklyn Basin Parcel G, located at 845 Embarcadero, contains 371 units from the same developer. The total development will span 64 acres across Oakland’s waterfront area, with 1,300 units slated across several phases. Phase 1 is slated to be completed by the second quarter of 2023, followed by Phase 2 by the end of 2023.

3. Gateway at Millbrae Station

Address: 200 Rollins Road, Millbrae

Unit Count: 400

Project Started: Nov. 22, 2020

Projected Completion: Sept. 30, 2022

Submarket: Millbrae

Cost: $401M

One key aspect of newer developments in the Bay Area is access to public transportation hubs, such as Bay Area Rapid Transit or CalTrain. The Gateway at Millbrae from Republic Urban Properties looks to capitalize on its proximity to public transport in Millbrae, as well as to the San Francisco International Airport. The mixed-use facility will contain 152K SF of office space, 44K SF of retail and restaurants, alongside 320 market-rate apartments and 100 affordable housing units. The project will also contain a 164-room hotel.   

2. 1900 Broadway

Address: 1900 Broadway, Oakland

Unit Count: 452

Project started: Dec. 1, 2020

Project completed: April 30, 2024

Submarket: Downtown Oakland

This 36-story mixed-use facility from developer Behring Cos. is slated to contain 452 units with just under 7K SF of retail space and 307 parking stalls. The project will be located above the 19th Street BART station stop and across the street from the Uber headquarters in Oakland. Many of the apartments will offer co-living units, with rental rates starting at $1,700 per month.    

1. The Waymark

Address: 200 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek

Unit Count: 596

Project Started: Aug. 31, 2020

Projected Completion: July 31, 2022

Submarket: Walnut Creek / Lafayette

Cost: $380M

This multiphase, transit-adjacent project contains 596 units spread across two phases. The first, 358 units and more than 14K SF in retail space, has a targeted completion in 2022. The second phase contains 238 units and 12K SF in retail space. The project will be adjacent to the Walnut Creek BART station, located on the former parking lots of that site. Blake | Griggs Properties is the developer.