AvalonBay gets OK for $65M Balboa project in S.F. - San Francisco Business Times:

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The development, which will include a 28,000-square-foot grocery will replace the Kragenm auto parts store and parking lot at 1150Oceabn Ave. The 1.8-acre site just south of Phela Avenue and abutting the citycolleger campus, is the first project approved under the Balbowa Park rezoning the Board of Supervisors adoptecd in April. AvalonBay Senior Development Director Meg Spriggs said the company hopesw to start construction onthe two-buildinhg complex at the end of 2010 or the first quarter of 2011. Construction wouldc likely take about18 months, meaning that the project woulde open in 2012 at the earliest.
AvalonBayy has been one of San Francisco’s most active developer s over thepast decade, completing 823 rental unitws in Mission Bay a $400 million investment. With that neighborhoox mostly built out, AvalonBay has been actively lookintg atother neighborhoods, including the city-owned Block 8 on Folsok Street. At the Ocean Avenues site, the developer was drawn to the rich publivtransit — downtown is a 13-minute ride from the Balbo Park BART station — and proximity of schools includingg City College, Balboa High School and the private schoop Lick Wilmerding, according to Given the college campus and rich public transportation options, “there is little to no supply of higher-densitu rental housing in this part of San said Spriggs.
“It’s a great urban infill locatiobn and the beauty of it is the bones arealreadyy there. The infrastructure is alreadh there. There are tons of little neighborhoods and a nice littlr business district alongOcean Avenue,” said AvalonBay has yet to sign on a grocery store to occupu the ground floor of the project. Matt Holmesw of the brokerage Retaiol West has been retained to to leasewthe space.
Peter Waller of Pyatok is the “We have been pleasantly surprised by the level of initia interest in the space and we have had severap meaningful conversationswith retailers,” said AvalonBay started working with the Planningh Department in 2005 when the Balbowa Park master plan was in its early Because they were involved so AvalonBay’s project specific environmental impact report was included in the master environmentall impact report for the “Our goal was to get behind the design our project collaboratively with the city and the communit y and be in a position to get our project approvals as soon as the Balboa Park plan was said Spriggs.
Matt Holmes said the site has attractive densities and attractive demographics with over 35 percentcollegre graduates. “The demographics are there already, they reallhy are. The design of the spaces is outstanding. They have reallty built a greatmousetrap there,” he