Interest surges in building apartments in Santa Rosa

In another sign of Sonoma County’s red-hot rental market, developers in recent months have proposed several new apartment complexes in Santa Rosa.

The city has received applications for at least seven new market rate apartment complexes, projects which if approved and constructed would bring 355 new units to a market with soaring rents and the lowest vacancy rates in modern memory.

The recent surge in interest in apartment construction could play a factor in the city’s ongoing debate about how to address what some are calling an affordable housing crisis.

Supporters will undoubtedly cite the new projects as evidence that market forces, once unleashed, can increase the housing stock and put downward pressure on rents. Affordable housing advocates, meanwhile, will note that none of the proposed projects actually includes affordable units.

The largest complex is the 120-unit second phase of Range Ranch south of Coddingtown Mall. The first phase, called The Annadel, is already under construction, with 270 units planned. The second phase to the south will bring the total for the combined project to 390 new units. Both are being constructed by the Wolff Co. of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Because of its proximity to Highway 101, a future rail station and other large apartments, the project is unlikely to face much opposition.

Not so for the 96-unit Canyon Oaks complex in the Fountaingrove neighborhood.

Fountaingrove neighbors, including the owners of nearby Paradise Ridge Winery, are likely to take issue with various aspects of project, as they did previous versions, said Skip Epperly, president of the Fountaingrove Ranch Master Homeowners Association.

“I can tell you that we will get involved in this,” Epperly said, saying traffic and density were likely to raise significant concerns among neighbors.

A previous version of the project proposed condominiums for the 10-acre site on Thomas Lake Harris Drive. But developer Oakmont Senior Living now wants to build them as rental units.

The project calls for one-, two- and three-bedroom units in five three-story apartment buildings plus a recreation center and 221 parking spaces. It’s in the environmental review phase, with thick reports on file on issues such as density, drainage and stability of the hillside.

The property is just a stone’s throw from another Oakmont Senior Living project, the 64-unit Fountaingrove Lodge, which was the nation’s first gay and lesbian retirement community when it opened in 2013.

The density of the project is likely to be a significant factor in whether it goes forward as proposed. Normal zoning would only allow about 80 units on the property, but the developer is proposing 96 based on density bonuses connected to the master plan for the area, explained city planner Patrick Streeter.

While the Fountaingrove Lodge project was also large, the traffic was less of an issue because not all residents were expected to have cars, Epperly said.

“This is a whole different project,” Epperly said. “This is probably targeted at younger and more mobile people.”

Steve McCullagh, a project manager for Oakmont Senior Living, did not return a call for comment.

Other significant projects in the works include:

*A 72-unit apartment complex called Pullman Lofts just a few blocks north of the future Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station in Railroad Square.

*The 20-unit North Street Apartments proposed by Jeff Luchetti Construction on the longtime site of Bekins Moving and Storage at the intersection of 14th and North streets.

*A 20-unit project called D & J Carriage Homes proposed by John Spenst in the 800 block of Aston Avenue.

*A 15-unit complex with an 1,800-square-foot coffee shop put forward by Bob Fischer at the intersection of 6th and Davis streets.

*A 12-unit project on a half-acre residential lot on Edwards Avenue owned by Doug and Susan Groves.

Fischer said the soaring rents, which have increased 30 percent in three years, are clearly driving the increase in rental projects.

“There’s been really no investment in what, eight years? So eventually the rubber band is going to snap,” Fischer said.

He said the impending arrival of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail station in nearby Railroad Square should clearly drive demand for housing in the area and his project, which sits just off a freeway off-ramp and which he views a “gateway” to Railroad Square.

While they may be embraced by city leaders seeking to increase rental housing stock, many such in-fill apartment projects will face challenges from existing neighborhoods.

The city received a petition signed by neighbors of the modern looking North Street Apartments “calling for a design more reflective of the surrounding neighborhood character.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.