Why Berkeley's Ripe for Luxury Multifamily

Multifamily development in Berkeley has been focused on student housing for years, but that's changing. We sat down with Olympic Residential Group founder Dan Deibel, who tells Bisnow why his three-year-old firm picked downtown Berkeley for its first project.

Dan (snapped during his Urban Housing Group days in 2011 at a Bisnow Event) tells us Berkeley is enjoying a complete renaissance, with tons of pent-up demand for Class-A apartment living. With that, Olympic just broke ground on a 99-unit mixed-use project at 2121 Dwight Way. He says the location is ideal for a resident who wants to live in an urban environment with all of the cultural and social options at their doorstep, and the "Gourmet Ghetto" is just up the street. S.F. is a 25-minute BART ride away.

He says the project will include a boatload of prime amenities that are unique to Berkeley, like a 4k SF roof deck with panoramic views of S.F., outdoor fireplaces and kitchen, as well as a large landscaped courtyard and European-style cabinets, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances inside units. Dan tells us Olympic is focused on job and transportation centric, urban infill sites for multifamily mixed-use (rental and for-sale) projects. The site was acquired by Olympic in February after wrapping up project approvals and should be done in summer 2016. Olympic will pursue LEED Gold for the project, which will feature units from 500 to about 1,100 SF.

The target renter profile includes YPs, empty nesters, University faculty and UC Berkeley students. Another project targeting the younger crowd will also deliver nearby in summer 2016. Panoramic Interests' Patrick Kennedy is bringing a 65-unit microhousing concept just a third of a mile from Berkeley's campus. The project, called The Independent (above), will be car free with a ground floor market.