San Rafael site proposed for 213-apartment complex
San Rafael has received a proposal for an eight-story downtown complex with 213 rental apartments.
The project, dubbed Modera San Rafael, would redevelop three office buildings at 930 Irwin St., which is between Third and Fourth streets. It would include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom dwellings and studio apartments.
Ten percent of the apartments would be below market rate. The proposal was submitted under the state density bonus law and Senate Bill 330, which limits the discretion of local jurisdictions.
Mill Creek Residential, a developer and investment manager in Florida that specializes in rental housing, submitted a planning application on July 3, according to the city’s permitting website. Kristin Estudillo, a city planner, said Wednesday that the application was considered incomplete.
When the project is approved for review, it will be considered by the Planning Commission, Estudillo said.
Mike Kim, a Mill Creek executive, said the plan is intended to create a walkable community to support the city’s vision for a revitalized downtown.
“In recent years, the city created a forward-looking plan for its downtown — one that welcomes new housing within this historic area,” Kim said. “This vision is what attracted us to make this investment within San Rafael. Once complete, the apartment community will align with the city’s blueprint for growth by adding greater pedestrian activity surrounding the Fourth Street corridor and the future transit center.”
The proposal includes amenities such as co-working spaces, a fitness center, a communal lobby area, a parking garage and an elevated garden courtyard.
The developer seeks a 20% density bonus, or 40,200 square feet. It would include 18 low-income apartments and 195 market-rate apartments, according to the application.
The affordable dwellings would include four studio apartments, six one-bedroom apartments, six two-bedroom apartments and two three-bedroom apartments.
The parking garage would have 232 spaces. The city has requested more information on proposed site work and other details.
Mayor Kate Colin said the city is fortunate to be an attractive location for development proposals that meet state and city requirements.
“I look forward to the public weighing in as it moves through the public process,” Colin said.
Mill Creek has developed housing in the Bay Area, Sacramento, Southern California and throughout the United States. As of March 31, the company’s portfolio included 146 communities and 39,600 rental homes operating or under construction.
The state has mandated that San Rafael facilitate the creation of 3,220 new homes in the 2023-2031 planning cycle while also “affirmatively furthering fair housing.”
When the city submitted its plan to the state last year, it outlined an inventory capacity of more than 4,800 dwellings. It identified 782 dwellings that were approved but not yet built.