COVER STORY, AUGUST 2007

APARTMENTALITY
More than location sets these multifamily projects apart.
Gardner Linn

The western region offers a wide variety of lifestyle choices for its residents. Four new multifamily developments highlight that range of residential experiences.

Blü

Blü in Beverly Hills

From the Clampetts to the Walshes, with Robin Leach leading the tour, Beverly Hills has long been synonymous with glamour and the luxurious lifestyle. But until now it has lacked an important piece of the puzzle.

“We observed that Beverly Hills was lacking a luxury, for-lease high-rise,” says Lauren Cohen, vice president of Galaxy Commercial Holding. Its solution was to convert a former office building at 8601 Wilshire Blvd. into Blü, an 11-story, 37-unit high-rise that will offer residents a boutique hotel environment. Ground broke on the renovation in July 2005, and completion of the sleek, glass-encased high-rise, designed by Gensler, is scheduled for late summer.

“Our experience revealed that high-end renters are leasing a lifestyle as much as a home,” says Cohen. To make that lifestyle complete, Blü will offer a wide range of upscale amenities to renters. Both unfurnished and furnished residences will be available, with floorplans ranging from 800 to 1,275 square feet. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and each residence comes prewired for digital cable and high-speed Internet. Beyond the individual units, Blü offers a full-service concierge, a fitness center, a media room with coffee bar and a rooftop terrace lounge with 360-degree views of the area. Residents will be only minutes away from the upscale shopping districts of Rodeo Drive, Robertson and the Beverly Center, and the nightlife of West Hollywood.

“Galaxy seeks projects, like Blü, that fill a niche demand,” says Cohen. “We know that the trend in luxury rentals points to residents who can afford to purchase a house or a condo, but prefer the lifestyle, amenities and flexibility of living in a high-end rental property.”

Omega

Omega in downtown Phoenix

The goal of Omega, a multifamily high-rise development in downtown Phoenix, is to provide residents a luxury environment for an urban lifestyle. The 32-story project, located at 2nd Avenue and Adams, is positioned to take advantage of Phoenix’s continued growth as a major urban center.

“[Omega offers] elegance, sophistication and a world-class address in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States,” says David Wallach, principal of Chicago-based W Developments LLC, which with Omega is developing its second major project in Phoenix (the first, the 23-story The Summit at Copper Square, opens its doors in September). “W Developments’ philosophy is to develop unique urban infill projects. The site for Omega itself is unique in its juxtaposition to the Orpheum Theatre, City Hall and South Mountain.”

While Omega’s location is one of its main attractions, the building will also offer residents a wide range of amenities. It will house 204 units with one to three bedrooms, as well as 8,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, a pool deck on the 12th floor, a workout room, and rooftop party and meeting rooms. A nearby future light-rail station will provide even greater access and convenience to Omega.

W Developments’ project partners are Hirsch Associates LLC of Chicago and HKS Inc. of Phoenix, which collaborated on Omega’s unique elliptical design. “This type of project is exactly the type of urban infill project [W Developments] is known for,” says Wallach. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2008, with completion expected in fall 2010.

323 Residences

Those who enjoy the high-end, outdoor lifestyle of skiing and golf will soon have a new home in the South Lake Tahoe community of Stateline, Nevada. That’s where Dallas’ Behringer Harvard, in partnership with Genesis Realty Inc., is building 323 Residences, a six-story building with 49 luxury condominiums.

The 0.68-acre development, which began in 2006, is surrounded by Heavenly Ski Resort, which straddles the Nevada/California border and is the largest ski resort in California. 323 Residences is also near Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and Roundhill Pines Beach Club, offering residents a wide range of outdoor and resort activities.

In addition to the nearby attractions, 323 Residences also offers spectacular views of the surrounding natural scenery, Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley. “The incredible location and the views that it will provide will be the development’s most outstanding trait,” says Jason Mattox, executive vice president of Behringer Harvard.

The residences themselves offer a host of amenities. Both single-level and multilevel condominiums will be available, with three- and four-bedroom floorplans, and each unit includes garage parking and a storage locker. The building will also offer a lounge, a library, a bar, billiards tables, a meeting room, a fitness center, locker rooms, saunas, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, and a golf simulator, for those who prefer to hit the links indoors.

The construction of 323 Residences has been a triumph of patience for Behringer Harvard and Genesis; accumulation and consolidation of the development rights took more than 15 years. But the end result promises to be a welcome addition to the Lake Tahoe area, and another success for Behringer Harvard. “The overall superior quality of this project is consistent with other Behringer-sponsored residential luxury developments,” says Mattox.

The Crossing Phase III

The Crossing Phase III, a $170 million development in San Bruno, California, will offer 350 rental and condominium units.

The average lifestyle in San Bruno, California, a 40,000-person city on the San Francisco Peninsula, is a little more modest than in Beverly Hills or Lake Tahoe. But with a mixture of local pride and modern technology, MacFarlane Partners and SNK Realty are adding a touch of luxury to the city with The Crossing Phase III, a $170 million, two-building, 350-unit multifamily development with both rental units and for-sale condominiums. It’s the latest addition to The Crossing, a master-planned community that is creating a new downtown out of 20 acres of U.S. Navy property.

“I love San Bruno,” says Hal Watson, CEO of SNK Realty. “I bought my first home here in 1989, less than a mile from the site. It means a lot to me to build quality projects in San Bruno.”

As San Bruno has gentrified in the last 15 years, the predominant saltbox housing style has become tired, says Watson; residents are frequently scraping homes to build new ones. The Crossing Phase III is the latest development in this trend. “San Bruno has really embraced the replacement of the old with the new,” says Watson. “It’s a solid community of hardworking, salt-of-the-earth people, who deserve high-quality housing.”

The two five-story buildings (with two-story underground garages) that make up Phase III will be the first concrete-and-steel buildings in The Crossing, but they will not be cold, modern metal boxes. Designers HDO Architects-Planners are taking their cues from the bungalow and mission-style homes of the area.

“The architectural style is intended to foster a sense of vitality through variety, and a strong sense of stability and timelessness through the use of quality materials found in an urban village, while maintaining a cozy, small-town feel,” says Victor MacFarlane, managing principal, chairman and CEO of MacFarlane Partners. “The two buildings will be situated on and surrounded by lush landscaping with spacious interior courtyards and a prominent entry fountain, a fully equipped fitness center, and an outdoor pool and spa.”

The first building will house 163 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments, and the second building will be home to 187 one- to three-bedroom for-sale condominiums, with floorplans ranging from 700 to 1,800 square feet. In total, there will be 375,000 square feet of residential space in both buildings. 

The Crossing is located across El Camino Real from The Shops at Tanforan mall, and has immediate access to the BART rail system and the 101 and 280 freeways; San Francisco International Airport is nearby. “I affectionately refer to The Crossing as our ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ project,” says Watson. “I sat out and watched the flow of pedestrians into the Crossing — flight attendants and pilots take the BART from the airport to The Shops at Tanforan, grab their Starbucks and walk across the street to The Crossing.”

Construction on The Crossing Phase III is expected to begin in September, with a scheduled completion in summer 2009.


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