Developments in South San Francisco

South San Francisco, CA    May 9, 2018  Submitted by Jaime Gonzalez

Exclusive: Prolific developer plots 200 apartments in South San Francisco amid housing development boom

BDE Architects designed the 195-unit phase of Cadence apartments at 405 Cypress Ave. in South San Francisco.
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BDE Architects designed the 195-unit phase of Cadence apartments at 405 Cypress Ave. in South San Francisco.
By Blanca Torres – Reporter, San Francisco Business Times
Mar 8, 2018, 2:16pm PST

South San Francisco is ushering in more new housing than the city has seen in years.

Close to 1,200 homes are in development or under construction, with more than a third coming from San Mateo-based Sares Regis Group of Northern California. The developer has 260 apartments under construction and recently proposed a second phase consisting of 195. In total, the Cadence apartments would encompass 455 homes in downtown South San Francisco.

“South San Francisco is a great market,” said Ken Busch, the developer’s senior vice president for residential development. “It’s a perfect place for housing.”
Ken Busch is senior vice president for residential development at Sares Regis Group of Northern California.
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Ken Busch is senior vice president for residential development at Sares Regis Group of Northern California.

The developer is one of the most prolific apartment builders on the Peninsula with several hundred homes in its pipeline from Daly City to the South Bay. Sares Regis expects to wrap up the first phase of Cadence, at 101 Miller Ave., by January of 2019. The second phase, at 405 Cypress Ave., will likely take at least three years to complete.

“We’re trying to create an urban fabric and variety,” by giving each phase a distinct look, Busch said.

The project is one block from the main downtown strip of shops and restaurants, within a few blocks from the future Caltrain station, and within a few miles of the city’s booming biotech hub east of Highway 101.
Sares Regis broke ground on the first, 260-unit phase of Cadence in May of 2017.
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Sares Regis broke ground on the first, 260-unit phase of Cadence in May of 2017.

Sares Regis is one of several developers moving forward with new housing after the city implemented guidelines to encourage development. Those plans are coming to fruition with a slew of new proposals in the past few years.

“The city spent a lot of time on their downtown area plan,” Busch said. “That helped the process a lot because then they had a framework for what they wanted downtown.”

In another part of town, SummerHill Apartment Communities recently locked in city approval to build 172 apartments on a 1.67-acre site the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue. The site is within walking distance to the city’s BART station, where the city also wants to see more development.

That project, designed by KTGY Architecture, will replace the South City Car Wash that will remain open until construction begins early next year.
SummerHill Apartment Communities plans to build 172 apartments designed by KTGY Architecture at the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue in South San Francisco.
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SummerHill Apartment Communities plans to build 172 apartments designed by KTGY Architecture at the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue in South San Francisco.

“The architectural intent is to create an elegant building that blends references to the industrial past of South San Francisco with a more contemporary language,” said Sara Fernandez, director of planning for KTGY’s Los Angeles office, in a statement. “It is our hope that the new development, in conjunction with the new Community Civic Campus, will serve as a catalyst for future transit-oriented development.”

Other projects in the South San Francisco housing pipeline include:

97 units at 200 Linden Ave. from developer Hisense Reus LLC that are approved.
81 units of senior housing on the 300 Block of Miller Ave. from Beacon Communities that are under construction.
69 homes at 211 Airport Blvd. from Pinefino LLC that are under construction.
157 units at 150 Airport Blvd. from DNA Design and Architecture that are approved.