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.

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.   

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”. 

Michael Tactay, an associate in KMA's San Diego office, recently obtained a Certificate in Real Estate Finance, Investments, and Development from the University of San Diego Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.  Michael started this Certificate Program in order to expand his knowledge of the real estate development industry, from financing and development to entitlement and legal aspects.  Notable courses include Real Estate Finance, Legal Aspects of Real Estate, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Regulat

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.

On March 12, the San Luis Obsipo County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of a major amendment to the County's existing Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. The updated policy, which takes effect July 1, would require that developers make 8 percent of their units affordable or pay in-lieu fees that are tiered based on a home’s square footage.

In September 2016, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1500, enabling the California Transportation Commission (Caltrans) to relinquish State Route 75 (SR 75) to the Cities of Imperial Beach and San Diego.  The portion of SR 75 - Palm Avenue - that runs through the City of Imperial Beach is one of two major commercial corridors in the City.  The City hired Keyser Marston Associates, Inc. (KMA) to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the relinquishment from an economic and financial perspective.

On October 16^th, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to approve Build Inc’s proposed redevelopment at India Basin, transforming the 17-acre waterfront site into a mixed-use community featuring 1,575 residential units (25% affordable), 145,000 SF of commercial space and open space that will become part of the India Basin Shoreline Park.  KMA advised the developer throughout the entitlement process and provided analysis informing parties of the fiscal and economic impacts of the project.

On November 30th, a public grand opening celebration was held at Artist Walk, the long waited mixed-use project in the heart of Fremont's Centerville Business District.  Developed by Blake|Griggs Properties of Danville, this TOD project is a block from an ACE Train station and in close proximity to BART and freeways.   The $85 million Artist Walk includes 185 luxury apartments along with public plazas and 30,000 SF of ground floor retail fronting Fremont Boulevard.  Keyser Marston's Reed Kawahara served as the City's long-time economic advisor on this project, which was developed on a city-owned site.

Sacramento recently welcomed a new addition to the Downtown Commons "DOCO" development, the Sawyer Hotel.  The Sawyer is a Kimpton-branded boutique hotel with 250-rooms, including 35 suites- some with extra-long beds to accommodate NBA players.  It also features a trendy rooftop restaurant, lounge and pool area called "The Revival" that overlooks the main plaza at Golden 1 Center.   KMA's Debbie Kern was economic advisor to the City of Sacramento and evaluated the project's financial feasibility.

On September 20th, the Hawai'i APA Annual Chapter award recipients were acknowledged at the HCPO Conference in Honolulu.   The award for Urban Design went to the Halawa Area Transit Oriented Development Plan, which seeks to transform the area surrounding the new high speed rail station at Aloha Stadium (and near Pearl Harbor attractions) into a vibrant livable community anchored by a mixed-use sports & entertainment district.   The plan was a collaboration between local and state officials, community members, and a consultant team lead by CallisonRTKL; Keyser Marston was the team member advising on the economics of the proposed plan.

On September 10th, ten interdisciplinary teams gathered at the Resilient by Design | Bay Area Challenge Kickoff Celebration in Richmond, CA.   The teams had been selected to participate in a design competition to craft innovative solutions enabling Bay Area communities to prepare for sea level rise, severe storms, flooding and earthquakes.  KMA (represented by Debbie Kern) is excited to participate as a member of the BionicTeam.

The San Francisco Bay Area's Chapter of the NAIOP (National Association of Industrial and Office Professionals) recently acknowledged 33 participants for completion of the annual program for young professionals dubbed the Young Professionals Group "YPG".  This program provides participants with curriculum and activities aimed at professional and personal growth.

On July 24th, the Public Financing Authority (PFA) for the Otay Mesa Enhanced Infrastructure District (EIFD) unanimously approved the Resolution to adopt an Infrastructure Financing Plan (IFP) and to officially establish the Otay Mesa EIFD.  The Otay Mesa EIFD is the State's second EIFD, the first being recently established West Sacramento EIFD No. 1.  Both EIFDs were formed with KMA assistance.  

On July 17th, the Mill Valley City Council introduced an affordable housing ordinance that would establish an impact fee on new residential projects, as well as renovation projects valued at $100,000 or more, in order to raise money for an Affordable Housing Trust Fund.  KMA was an advisor to the City and prepared a Residential Nexus Analysis to quantify the relationship between market-rate residential development and the demand for affordable housing.

On June 28th, the City of West Sacramento officially formed the State's first Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD).  KMA was the financial advisor to the City and provided guidance throughout the formation process by testing feasibility of establishing an EIFD.  Additionally, KMA evaluated the revenue-generating capacity of the proposed EIFD, prepared the Infrastructure Financing Plan (IFP), and assessed the fiscal impacts of anticipated new development.

On February 7th, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved two resolutions that initiated the establishment of an EIFD for the Otay Mesa Community of San Diego.  This will be one of the State's first Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts, and will help provide vital infrastructure in Otay Mesa, a large Community Planning Area along the international border with an estimated 2,000 open acres of land.   KMA advised the City on the establishment of the EIFD and prepared the draft Infrastructure Financing Plan.

Reed Kawahara attended CSU’s Auxiliary Organizations Association (AOA) Annual Conference held in San Diego on Monday, January 9th.  Reed was a presenter at a session entitled Update on Financing Public Private Partnership Projects, which was designed to provide a basic understanding of CSU policies and procedures governing campus real property development, along with providing an overview of the use of financial pro formas in public/private partnerships.

On Tuesday December 12^th, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved the $275 million, 34-story Park & Market project that includes a 66,000-square-foot four-story office building that will be occupied by UC San Diego.  

Keyser Marston was economic advisor to Civic San Diego in its negotiations with Developer, Holland Partner Group, for the transit friendly project, which will be located adjacent to an Orange line trolley stop in San Diego’s East Village.  The City owns the site and Keyser Marston analyzed the financial terms of the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA), informing the City of the reuse value of interests being conveyed.

At the ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas, eleven projects were designated with the prestigious 2016 Global Award for Excellence, including Celadon at 9th & Broadway.  This high-rise affordable rental apartment project in Downtown San Diego offers 250 units of affordable housing, and is located three blocks from a trolley stop.  Keyser Marston advised Civic San Diego on the project's feasibility and amount of warranted public assistance.  Developer is Bridge Housing.

A Tool Kit to Fix California’s Housing Shortage: 3.5 Million Homes by 2025, the new report released by the McKinsey Institute of Global Studies, tackles California's chronic housing crisis by offering 15 ideas that could help cities throughout the state meet the challenge of producing more affordable housing units.   The McKinsey Institute consulted with many experts in the housing industry including Keyser Marston's Paul Marra. 

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has released a new report - Successful Public-Private Partnerships: From Principles to Practice.  This insightful report was written to offer solutions to the challenges facing the public sector in creation of real estate developments which benefit both the private and public sector, as well as to help develop and maintain infrastructure and public facilities. The purpose of this publication is to build on the Ten Principles of Successful Public-Private Partnerships, which was published 10 years ago (KMA's Jerry Keyser was a key contributor).

On June 28th, the Santa Clara City Council gave a green light to the ambitious $6.5 billion mixed-use development project proposed by Related Companies for the 240-acre city-owned site north of Levi's Stadium.  The scope of the project is huge - when fully built out City Place will include up to 5.7 million square feet of office, 1.2 million square feet of retail and restaurant space, 700 hotel rooms, and up to 1,360 apartment units - totalling 9.7m square feet. Keyser Marston has been the City's real estate advisor and involved in ongoing negotiations since late 2013 when initial development concepts were presented.

KMA is pleased to announce the recent opening of the Lillian Court and Bloomington Grove project, a 106-unit affordable housing apartment community that includes a 6,700 square foot public library.  The project is located on a five- acre site in the unincorporated Bloomington area of San Bernardino County.  KMA was the real estate advisor to San Bernardino County and helped structure the P3 transaction with developer Related California.

KMA extends congratulations to Jim Rabe, a Principal in the Los Angeles office, who has been approved to join the Board of Regents of the California Academy of Economic Development. The Academy is the education and training arm of the California Association for Local Economic Development "CALED", which is the premier statewide economic development organization whose mission it is to support members in delivery of successful economic development services within their communities. 

The Counselors of Real Estate "CRE" announced it's annual list of the top ten issues impacting real estate during the keynote address at the 2016 Counselors of Real Estate Editors Annual Conference, which took place in New Orleans on June 8th.   CRE is a membership organization established for the professional development and knowledge sharing of real estate advisors.

On March 4th, City and Civic San Diego officials and Westfield Corporation officially opened the new Horton Plaza Park in Downtown San Diego.  A public ceremony was held to celebrate the $17 million redevelopment of a 1.4-acre urban plaza adjacent to the Westfield Horton Plaza retail center.  KMA assisted Civic San Diego in complex negotiations with Westfield....

NAIOP San Diego’s sixth annual University Challenge was held on April 21, 2016.  In this challenge, student teams from UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and the University of San Diego competed in a real estate development challenge program, providing them with an opportunity to interact with peers and professionals in undertaking development economics, community visioning, and design strategies - all in support of formulating a winning development plan to present to NAIOP judges.  KMA's Paul C. Marra was an industry advisor to the winning UCSD team.

In the City of San Gabriel, the Landmark Hyatt Place mixed-use hotel project recently broke ground.  The project will include a 225-room hotel, 87 condominium units, 32,500 square feet of commercial and 19,140 square feet of restaurant space. 

Keyser Marston is pleased to share the announcement of the October 21^st grand opening of Cabrillo Gateway, the fourth phase of the Villages at Cabrillo campus in Long Beach, CA. Developed and operated by Century Villages at Cabrillo (CVC), a nonprofit community development organization, the 26-acre village is a residential community established in 1997 on a former U.S. Naval housing site with a mission to combat homelessness.

As a highlight of ULI's Fall Meeting held in San Francisco, the annual Emerging Trends report was released.   This esteemed report, published by ULI and PwC, reflects the opinions and insights from more than 1,800 leading real estate experts, including investors, fund managers, developers, and other real estate professionals.

KMA's San Francisco office is very pleased to announce that Kevin Feeney has joined the firm as an Associate.  Kevin holds a Master’s degree in City Planning from MIT, a Bachelor's degree from Harvard, and was recently employed by the City of San Francisco's OEWD.  Kevin will provide assistance on a wide range of projects including market and financial feasibilty studies, economic revitalization strategies, and nexus an

The Counselors of Real Estate "CRE" announced it's annual list of the top ten issues impacting real estate during the keynote address at the 2015 Counselors of Real Estate Editors Annual Conference, which took place in Miami on June 25th.   CRE is a membership organization established for the professional development and knowledge sharing of real estate advisors.   Please click here to learn more about these issues identified by CRE and the expected impact on the real estate industry. 

KMA's San Diego office is pleased to announce that Michael Tactay has agreed to join the KMA ranks as an Analyst effective June 1, 2015.  Michael has worked with us as an intern since last December on a broad range of projects, with an emphasis on market assessments, revitalization strategies, and fiscal and economic impact studies. We are delighted to have Michael on board!

The San Francisco chapter of Urban Land Institute (ULI) issued a report this month, Tackling Sea-Level Rise: Best Practices in the San Francisco Bay Area, which highlights the best practices and lessons learned that could help Bay Area cities adopt resilient and collaborative strategies to confront the challenge of sea level rise. 

On April 27th, KMA's David Doezema traveled to Boulder, CO to participate in the city-sponsored forum Fresh Perspectives on Housing Boulder, which featured out-of-state guest panelists sharing their perspectives on how Boulder could meet its housing affordability challenges.  David joined three other housing industry experts in sharing insghts, examples of best practices and observations about Boulder's housing challenges

The Registry recently featured an article describing BART's successful endeavors in the creation of Transit Oriented Development around its stations, with current interest from private developers and local jurisdictions at an all-time high.

A recent report from CBRE, Scoring Tech Talent, ranks the Top 50 U.S. markets for tech talent clusters, analyzing the competitve advantages of each market and ensuing ability to attract highly-skilled tech workers. The growth in tech talent has been a massive driver in demand for office space in major U.S. markets, pushing up property values and rents. 

A recent article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel describes the approval by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors of a major update to the County's affordable housing regulations.  Keyser Marston was retained by the County to provide advisory services relating to this update of its housing program, which had not seen significant changes since the 1970s.

The Registry recently featured an article discussing the exciting changes underway in Downtown Fremont, specifically the mixed-use project on Capitol Avenue approved last fall by the City Council.

The County of Los Angeles Redevelopment Bond Refunding Program was named as the 2014 Far West Regional Winner for The Bond Buyer’s 13^th Annual “Deal of the Year Awards” held on December 4, 2014 in New York City.  The Program is an initiative launched in 2013 by the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector (County TTC) to assist participating Successor Agencies in the refinancing of existing bond obligations...

On March 20 - 21, 2014 KMA Principal Paul Marra participated in a Technical Assistance Panel "TAP" sponsored by the ULI San Diego- Tijuana District Council.   Paul chaired the TAP as it explored options for the Baja California Center (BCC) District Implementation Strategy, which involved exploring the best options to implement a 700-acre mixed-use district surrounding the new convention center in Playas de Rosarito, Mexico.