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

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The development, which will includ a 28,000-square-foot grocery will replace the Kragenn auto parts store and parking lot at 1150Oceah Ave. The 1.8-acre site just south of Phelamn Avenue and abutting the citycollege campus, is the first projecf approved under the Balboa Park rezoning the Board of Supervisors adopteds in April. AvalonBay Senior Development Directo Meg Spriggs said the company hopes to start constructiohn onthe two-building complex at the end of 2010 or the firstr quarter of 2011. Construction would likelty take about18 months, meaning that the projecy would open in 2012 at the earliest.
AvalonBat has been one of San Francisco’s most activs developers over thepast decade, completing 823 rental units in Mission Bay north, a $400 milliohn investment. With that neighborhood mostlhybuilt out, AvalonBay has been actively looking at othe r neighborhoods, including the city-owned Block 8 on Folsom At the Ocean Avenue site, the develope r was drawn to the rich publix transit — downtown is a 13-minut ride from the Balboa Park BART statiojn — and proximity of schools including City Balboa High School and the private school Lick Wilmerding, accordinvg to Spriggs.
Given the collegd campus and rich publictransportation “there is little to no supply of higher-density renta l housing in this part of San Francisco,” said “It’s a great urban infill location and the beauthy of it is the bones are alreadh there. The infrastructure is already there. There are tons of littlr neighborhoods and a nice littls business district alongOcean Avenue,” said AvalonBay has yet to sign on a grocergy store to occupy the ground floor of the Matt Holmes of the brokerage Retail West has been retainerd to to lease the space. Peter Wallerr of Pyatok is the architect.
“Wew have been pleasantly surprisede by the level of initial interest in the spacew and we have had several meaningfup conversationswith retailers,” said AvalonBay started working with the Planninfg Department in 2005 when the Balboa Park master plan was in its earlyh stages. Because they were involved so early, AvalonBay’s project specificc environmental impact report was includecd in the master environmentapl impact report forthe neighborhood. “Our goal was to get behindf the plan, design our projecr collaboratively with the city and the community and be in a position to get our project approvals as soon as the Balboqa Park planwas approved,” said Spriggs.
Matt Holmes said the site has attractivre densities and attractive demographicz with over 35 percen tcollege graduates. “The demographics are there theyreally are. The design of the space is They have really built a great mousetrap he said.