The City of San Rafael has approved developer Monahan Pacific to build a seven-story multifamily building in the Downtown area.
The project at 1515 Fourth Street will replace a former bank office branch on a 0.8-acre site. The building will include 162 units, 9,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level and a public art space.
1515 Fourth marks the first major project in The San Rafael Downtown Precise Plan, which was adopted in 2021 to provide guidelines for development. The plan also rezoned the area to provide for greater density for projects.
Monahan Pacific’s project was initially introduced last year for 191 units and 4,000 square feet of commercial space. It invoked SB 35, a state law which streamlines approval for projects that meet certain criteria. In the most recent proposal, Monahan Pacific withdrew its intent to use SB 35 and lowered the number of housing units while increasing the amount of commercial space.
Monahan Pacific has other projects in the Marin County city that include a 140-key Marriott brand hotel opening next month. It also developed a number of San Francisco residential towers.
The North Bay has traditionally not seen a lot of large development projects in the pipeline, but recently proposals aimed at bringing a significant number of new units have gained traction. San Francisco-based Urbanmix Development is proposing a 132-unit development southeast of the Petaluma River. Also in Petaluma, Arcata-based Danco Builders bought the site of a 131-unit residential development for nearly $11 million.
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Demand for residential units sharply increased in the first quarter, according to a report by CBRE. This was due to rising interest rates driving up mortgage payments on newly purchased homes by 70 percent, while rent payments on multifamily properties have remained stable.
“Home prices have fallen by 9.7 percent since second quarter 2022 but not enough to significantly offset the impact of higher mortgage rates,” the report said.