Estrella Vista – $64 Mil Affordable Housing Project Breaks Ground in Emeryville
RENTV
October 13, 2017
EAH Housing and the City of Emeryville have broken ground on Estrella Vista, a new, 86-unit transit-oriented mixed-use residential development at 3706 San Pablo Ave in the downtown area of Emeryville, in the East Bay. The $64 mil multi-family rental community will provide up to four-bedroom apartment homes to households earning 30 to 60 percent of Alameda County’s area median income.
The project, designed by KTGY Architecture + Planning, has a Walk Score of 90. Residents can walk to the MacArthur BART station, which is just 0.7 miles away, or take a bus from the property to BART. Walk Score also called the locateon “Very Bikeable.”
“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.
Estrella Vista’s design features four main outdoor areas. 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 provides an outdoor sky deck space at the sixth level with views to 37th Street and beyond.
Since the project is located on a very visible corner, the design creates a strong street presence through signature exterior elements at the corner building. The design also incorporates public art as part of the city development requirements. KTGY is collaborating with local artist Eric Powell to integrate a significant piece of public art into the overall design of the architecture.
The widened San Pablo Blvd frontage will encourage pedestrian traffic with relief from San Pablo Ave and allow for additional street landscaping, notes Musick. The new development will also include nearly 7k sf of street-level retail.
Estrella Vista will be environmentally-sensitive and 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 the 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 USGBC’s LEED Gold specification, one of the toughest industry guidelines for sustainable building and maintenance. Completion is slated for September 2019.
