EMERYVILLE, CALIF. – The City of Emeryville selected nonprofit developer, manager and advocate of affordable housing EAH Housing to develop a new mixed-use affordable apartment community at 3706 San Pablo Avenue. EAH chose award-winning national firm KTGY Group, Inc. to design the community. The 86-unit transit-oriented development will incorporate a solar photovoltaic system, a community garden and 7,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.
“Emeryville is excited about initiating our newest affordable housing development located in a neighborhood near BART, regional bus services, retail services and schools. This development is complemented by our rain garden and pedestrian and bicycle improvements on San Pablo Avenue,” said Emeryville Mayor Jac Asher.
The five-level affordable community will be situated on the eastern block of San Pablo Avenue, between West MacArthur Boulevard and 37th Street. Apartments will be a mix of one to four bedrooms and range from 670 to 1,400 square feet. It will include elements for all ages, such as a child play center, young adult Zen garden and rooftop sky deck overlooking the city.
“We are thrilled to be selected by the City of Emeryville as the architect for the San Pablo site along with EAH Housing,” said KTGY Associate Principal Jessica Musick and the lead designer of the project. “We look forward to working closely with the City, EAH and the community to transform this vacant site into a vital mixed-use development.”
The EAH Housing/KTGY team received the highest ranking by the City out of nine developers from across California who submitted proposals. The City asked for 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.
“We are honored to have the City of Emeryville select EAH as the development partner to build much needed affordable family apartment homes in Emeryville,” said Mary Murtagh, President and CEO of EAH Housing. “This new community will embody both the values of the City and the mission of EAH by melding together quality affordable homes with commercial mixed use on the ground floor, transit-oriented housing, and leading energy efficiency and environmental measures.”
The site is less than a mile from the MacArthur BART station and well serviced by multiple buses. To make the community more pedestrian-friendly and encourage bicycle use, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will fund realigned high-visibility sidewalks and improved landscaping along San Pablo Avenue.
Construction is slated to begin spring of 2016.
