Riaz Capital has proposed a five-story, 57-unit residential development near downtown Oakland — the latest of many projects the developer has up its sleeve in its hometown.

The proposed 32,250-square-foot project, 578 SeventhAve., will utilize state density bonus law to get to 57 units, according to Alex Walter, development associate for Riaz Capital.

Sixteen of the project’s units will be earmarked for individuals earning between 80% and 120% of area median income. The remaining 41 will be market rate. Rents will depend on market rates at the time those units are available for lease, Walter told me.

The 7,500-square-foot site is currently host to a 6,000-square-foot, single-story commercial building that been vacant in recent years, according to Walter. Riaz Capital is under contract to buy the land and has plans to demolish the existing building, he said. Walter declined to disclose the details of the contract.

The developer submitted its formal application to the city Aug. 17. The project, designed by NatomaArchitects, will include a mix of two-bedroom units at about 650 square feet each and small-format studios, which will average 325 square feet each. The company is aiming to break ground by the end of2022 and to complete the project in the first quarter of 2024, Walter said.

Riaz Capital, which recently announced the launch of its third opportunity zone fund, has 1,500 existing units in Oakland and 1,700 in the development pipeline, Garrick Monaghan, the company’s associate vice president of investor relations, told me earlier this month.

The project on Seventh Street is in a designated opportunity zone, Walter confirmed, though it will not be part of the fund launched this month. The developer is seeking to raise $100 million with that fund, with which it plans to raise an additional 1,600 units in Oakland.

Riaz Capital’s project portfolio emphasizes affordability by design, the developer has said. The state density bonus law, which allows developers to increase the permitted density of a project if it includes on-site affordable units, has been a key tool for the company, Walter told me.

The developer has previously said it builds with young professionals earning between $60,000 and $80,000 in mind. The average rent across the developer’s Oakland portfolio runs just under $1,700, Monaghan said in an email earlier this month.

“These are residents that might not necessarily need a parking garage because they focus on public transport. They don't need to bear the burden of those costs,” Walter said. “Taking those pieces of the equation out helps keep rents at a level where our target residents can afford a beautiful, new-construction building in a nice area.”

NATOMA ARCHITECTS, INC.

A rendering of Riaz Capital's recently proposed residential development on Seventh Street in Oakland. The 57-unit development will include a mix of small-format studios and two-bedroom units.

Sarah Klearman
Staff Reporter
San Francisco Business Times