Is a Wave of New Homes for Sale Headed for Richmond’s Waterfront?
Is a Wave of New Homes for Sale Headed for Richmond’s Waterfront?
We are keeping an eye on Richmond, the diverse, blue collar city that’s on the verge of becoming the next big East Bay real estate hot spot.
It seems like we hear daily news about plans for new Richmond homes for sale and commercial developments that would transform the waterfront, once the booming site of a Ford Motor assembly plant, a cannery, the world's largest winery before Prohibition, WWII-era shipyards, and warehouse operations.
WWII-era shipyards (home of Wendy the Welder and Rosie the Riveter) are now sought-after sites for new home and commercial development.
Driving this wave of interest, in large part, is a new ferry service that launched in January. The Richmond ferry runs from Marina Bay to San Francisco’s Ferry Building, making the usual traffic-packed freeway commute an easy, breezy 35-minute trip.
Richmond also has this going for it: Richmond is considered one of the last bastions of housing affordability in the Bay Area and is one of the few cities with major chunks of land still available for development.
Here’s what we’re watching on the Richmond real estate scene:
- Orton Development, Point Molate Partners (PMP), SunCal, and Samuelson Schafer recently presented a slew of waterfront proposals to the city council for 2,000 homes, a hotel, food hall, brewery and more at Point Molate, a 413-acre historic waterfront site that was once a Navy fuel depot. Whoever gets to develop this much sought-after site wins Bay views, ideal proximity to the Richmond/San Rafael bridge, 70 acres of open space, and historic buildings.
Winehaven at Point Molate was once the world's largest winery and later transformed into a Navy fuel depot.
- New West Co., owned by a longtime Las Vegas developer, wants to build 800 units near the ferry terminal. “It’s once-in-a-lifetime real estate,” developer Terry Manley told the San Francisco Business Journal. New West Co. reportedly entitled 193 homes on 18 acres on Canal Boulevard and is working on another 5-acre lot for as many as 600 apartments or condos.
- Lyon Homes is developing two master-planned communities in the area it’s calling NOMA, or North of Marina Bay, with 98 townhomes on Seawind Drive and 95 single-family homes for sale in Richmond.
- Shea Homes is constructing 60 waterfront townhomes on Seacliff Drive and 256 more units downtown.
- Latitude is a new project proposed for Dornan Drive with 295 condos and 21 single-family homes for sale in Richmond, replacing warehouses that are left over from the busy shipping days.
- SAA/EVI Development out of Baltimore has plans to build a total of 870 homes, including a residential/retail development with 378 apartments downtown at 12th and MacDonald Avenue near the Richmond BART station. A percentage of the unit will be reserved for affordable housing.
Of course, part of the developing story here includes opposition from neighbors and environmentalists who are concerned about preserving Richmond’s diversity, affordability, natural spaces, and rich waterfront history.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how Richmond will grow. Stay tuned.
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Want to know more about homes for sale in Richmond and other new East Bay developments? Contact Abio's real estate experts at 888-400-ABIO (2246) or [email protected].