EMERYVILLE, CA—Slowly but surely, more affordable housing is beginning to find its way into Bay Area developments. Estrella Vista, a new transit-oriented mixed-use 86-unit residential development at 3706 San Pablo Ave. in downtown partially answers the demand for more family-friendly housing near transit.

The new $64 million multifamily rental community will provide apartment homes, some as large as four bedrooms, to households earning 30 to 60% of Alameda County's area median income. Completion is slated for September 2019.

“We recognize that California, specifically the Bay Area, has been in a housing crisis for a while,” said Mary Murtagh, president and CEO of EAH Housing. “The last new affordable community EAH built in the Emeryville/Oakland area had over 5,000 applications for 100 apartment homes. To get to this point, everyone worked hard. KTGY and EAH Housing are proud that hundreds more people, including children and seniors, will soon have an affordable place to call home at Estrella Vista.”

This project was awarded to EAH in 2012, after undergoing an extensive RFP process with the city. From the beginning, EAH's goal has been to provide an affordable family development to the community that is indistinguishable in quality from other market-rate communities in the area.

KTGY embraced this goal and designed the future residences around a series of outdoor spaces geared to serve families at different life stages, explained Jessica Musick, associate principal in KTGY's Oakland office. Estrella Vista's design features four main outdoor areas for families. A large central courtyard offers play equipment for children while the Zen garden and adult overlook offer space for young adults and parents to retreat. All courtyards are elevated above street level and provide safe places for families to gather. The new residential community also offers outdoor sky deck space at the sixth level with views to 37th Street and beyond.

Estrella Vista's architectural style also blends contemporary design with historic references.

“We wanted to celebrate the special character and history of this city and took our design inspirations from the city's industrial beginnings and incorporated the use of bricks on the façade,” says Musick.

Walk Score gave the location a score of 90 and called the location “very bikeable”. The widened San Pablo Boulevard frontage will encourage pedestrian traffic with relief from San Pablo Avenue and allow for additional street landscaping, notes Musick. The new development will also include nearly 7,000 square feet of street-level retail.

Estrella Vista will be constructed using sustainable building methods. A number of green features designed to ensure its long-term energy-efficiency and sustainability will be incorporated including photovoltaic solar panels, a solar water heating system, low-flow plumbing fixtures, recycled materials, energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and water-efficient landscaping. Power for electric vehicle charging stations will be supplemented by the rooftop photovoltaic solar panels. The community will encourage bicycle usage with bicycle racks at several locations along the property's commercial frontage. EAH Housing plans to pursue LEED Gold certification.

Michael Gould, principal in KTGY's Oakland office, recently addressed the location and need for more affordable housing across the Bay Area.

GlobeSt.com: How significant is the location in Emeryville in terms of being one of the hottest locations?

Gould: The Estrella Vista site represents a much-needed affordable TOD development that extends Emeryville's mixed-use development along San Pablo as well as strengthening its connection to Oakland. Located at the convergence of San Pablo Avenue, Adeline Street and West MacArthur Blvd., Estrella Vista will offer individuals and families the opportunity to live near where they work or can use BART. Walk Score calls the location a 'walker's paradise'. Estrella Vista residents can walk to the MacArthur BART station, which is just 0.7 miles away or take a bus to BART. East Baybridge Shopping Center is just a four-minute walk.

GlobeSt.com: No matter how many units are built, it is never enough. How can affordable housing keep up with demand in some of these dense areas?

Gould: This is one of the most difficult questions of our time, but there is consensus that it will certainly require funding and we are encouraged to see that has been recognized at the city, county and state levels. Estrella Vista is a great example of the public and private sector working together to achieve the goal of providing more affordable housing to our Bay Area residents. We need this type of cohesive partnership between the private and public sector in order to provide more affordable housing.

Estrella Vista's architectural style also blends contemporary design with historic references.

Michael Gould, principal in KTGY's Oakland office, recently addressed the location and need for more affordable housing across the Bay Area.

GlobeSt.com: How significant is the location in Emeryville in terms of being one of the hottest locations?

GlobeSt.com: No matter how many units are built, it is never enough. How can affordable housing keep up with demand in some of these dense areas?

Instant Insights /

Goal is to Create Housing Indistinguishable in Quality

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