Trusted Advisors in Public-Private Real Estate Development

The 2020 CALED annual conference is a celebration of how California’s Economic Developers are “Getting it done” every day in their communities through relationship building, strategic planning, and connecting to key resources.  KMA is proud to be an event sponsor and participant.  Kathe Head, Jim Rabe, Debbie Kern and Michael Tactay will be in attendance.   Kathe will be on a two person panel discussing the topic of Incentive Zoning: A Tool to Encourage Development Coupled with Desired Community Benefits.  

On Wednesday May 6th, a Santa Clara Superior Judge upheld the City of Cupertino's September 2018 approval of the Vallco Town Center, concluding the project proposed by Sand Hill Property Company is in conformance with SB 35 guidelines and therefore eligible to proceed.  SB 35 is part of a landmark package of housing bills enacted in 2017 to address the affordable housing shortage in California.  SB 35 facilitates the expedited development of eligible projects, and the court ruling allows the redevelopment of the former Vallco Mall to move forward.  

A critical economic development goal for the City of Sunnyvale has been to transform the partially built Sunnyvale Town Center, now called Cityline, into a dynamic and unique downtown core. Recent updates in the news reveal the transformation has hit exciting milestones.  Phase 1 of the mixed-use project is nearing completion; substantial retail has been completed with additional tenant announcements last week (Ulta Beauty, Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics and Xfinity will be joining anchors Whole Foods and AMC theaters, along with restaurants Pacific Catch and Urban Plates). 

On December 10, 2019 the City of San Diego approved with a veto-proof margin proposed Amendments to the City's existing Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.  Championed by Council President Georgette Gomez, the new policy will require developers to include affordable units in their market-rate housing projects or pay a higher in-lieu fee for the City to build them off-site.  KMA was hired by the San Diego Housing Commission to assess the economic feasibility of the updated policy.

The Palm Desert City Council approved a $200 million artificial wave resort project on November 18^th, DSRT SURF, which will feature a 5.5-acre wave lagoon with unique waves powered by the “Wavegarden Cove”.  Phase one of the project will be built on nearly 18 acres at the Desert Willow Golf Resort; other components will include a 4-story hotel, cabanas, restaurants, a sand beach area, sports courts, and a stage/amphitheater.  A second phase will include for-sale residential villas.

KMA's Berkeley office is hiring!   Depending upon the candidate's qualifications, we are seeking to hire either a Land Use Economics INTERN / ANALYST or Land Use Economics SENIOR ANALYST / ASSOCIATE.  

Detailed descriptions of each position and how to apply can be viewed in the PDF document linked below.   No phone calls, please. 

On July 9, 2019 the Oakland City Council unanimously approved Kaiser Permanente’s proposed project, a consolidated headquarters in Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood that was previously announced on June 17.  The massive 28-story office building to rise at 2100 Telegraph will encompass 1.5 million square feet- making it the largest office building in Oakland.   

Keyser Marston was the City’s real estate advisor for the City-owned parcel at 2100 Telegraph, which was the last parcel needed by Developer Lane Partners to assemble the project site, as a block of adjacent parcels was previously acquired. 

Major changes are soon to be underway at Downtown San Diego’s famed -- but in recent years increasingly vacant -- Horton Plaza regional mall.  After unanimous approval from the San Diego City Council on May 20^th, new ownership is moving forward with an ambitious plan to renovate the center and create a vibrant mixed-use use tech hub “The Campus at Horton”. 

On April 30^th, the City of Sacramento approved establishment of a “Destination Sacramento Program”.  Its goal is the revitalization of the 28-acre historic waterfront into a more vibrant entertainment district, including addition of new attractions to bolster resident & tourist visits to the waterfront.

At the City’s request, KMA produced a Revenue Potential Study showing the economic impacts of a successful revitalization.  KMA evaluated the sales tax and hotel room nights currently generated by Old Sacramento, the performance levels of other successful entertainment districts in California and elsewhere, and the magnitude of tax revenues and jobs that Old Sacramento could potentially generate.