Emeryville has selected a developer to raise almost 400 affordable homes near the city’s downtown area. San Rafael-based EAH Housing will receive $24 million in funds from the city to complete the project.
The City Council unanimously voted for EAH Housing, out of six candidates, as its first choice as developer for the Christie Sites, a 2-acre parcel of land at 5890-6150 Christie Avenue. The vote authorized the city to enter into an exclusive agreement with the developer for the project, and both sides have 180 days to agree to the terms of the development.
The Christies Sites Redevelopment was inherited by the city from the now dissolved Emeryville Redevelopment Agency in the 2000s, and has long been looked at for housing. The redevelopment agency acquired the site nearly two decades ago from the healthcare group North Star Alliance, public records show.
EAH proposes to create three eight-story buildings totaling 367 units, with 46 studios, 89 one-bedrooms, 128 two-bedrooms and 104 three-bedroom units. All but three managerial units will be made available to residents making 60 percent of the area’s median income or less.
The project will feature a pedestrian connection between Christie Avenue and Emeryville’s Public Market.
EAH hopes to break ground on the project in fall of 2025 and hopes to use tax credits, along with the $24 million in funds, for construction. The developer estimates project completion in the summer of 2028.
Emeryville has been an outlier in terms of its aggressiveness in building affordable and market-rate housing. The city placed second in the Bay Area, trailing Alameda, to certify its housing element and reach compliance with state-mandated housing goals.
“Emeryville understands the urgency of the housing crisis, and the need to cultivate and support new homes for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and needs,” Mayor John Bauters said. “We moved this process effectively because our elected policy leadership and superior professional staff are unified under the same mission: to make housing in our communities more equitable, affordable, accessible and just.”
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