Estrella Vista – Emeryville affordable housing project breaks ground

East Bay Times

October 11, 2017

EMERYVILLE — Ground was broken Wednesday on a “transit-oriented affordable housing community targeting large families” near Oakland’s MacArthur BART station, an area on the threshold of gentrification.

Estrella Vista, an 86-unit, mixed-use residential project at 3706 San Pablo Ave. at MacArthur Boulevard, will have apartments with up to four bedrooms for households earning from 30 to 60 percent of median income in Alameda County, according to a statement from the architect, Oakland-based KTGY Architecture + Planning. The developer is the nonprofit EAH Housing, which has projects in California and Hawaii.

The $64 million Emeryville project “answers the demand for more family-friendly housing near transit,” according to the statement. The MacArthur BART station is seven-tenths of a mile away.

Estrella Vista will have some features not typically associated with affordable housing, a segment of the industry that has been all but shut out of the residential building boom in many gentrifying areas of the East Bay. There will be a “Zen Garden and Adult Overlook” retreat space for young adults and parents; a large central courtyard with children’s play equipment; and an outdoor sky deck on the sixth level. The design also includes public art, and KTGY is working with local artist Eric Powell to that end, according to KTGY.

Estrella Vista will be environmentally sensitive and constructed with “sustainable building methods,” KTGY added. There will be “green” features such as photovoltaic solar panels, a solar water heating system, low-flow plumbing fixtures,  energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and water-efficient landscaping, and an emphasis on recycled materials. Electric vehicle stations will be powered partially by rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, and there will be bicycle racks along the property’s commercial frontage, according to KTGY.

The project is expected to be completed in September 2019.