Multi-Housing News
June 1, 2015

Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) and Thompson | Dorfman Partners LLC (TDP) have forged a joint venture with an initial capital commitment to fund $500 million for Bay Area multifamily housing development.

The venture will seek mixed-use multifamily residential development and acquisition opportunities in urban infill locations in the San Francisco Bay area.

“We have been looking to form a relationship like this one for past several years but hadn’t found the right partner until we started talking with Crow Holdings,” Bruce Dorfman, TDP principal, told MHN.

“It should be noted that the principals of TDP had their start in the development industry with Trammell Crow Residential and we have remained close to our counterparts at Crow Holdings over the years,” he said. “While at TCR, we learned many of the values, skills and cultural attributes that we have incorporated in our business today. The venture with TCR is a natural fit for us. Most importantly, the TCR platform allows us to continue to pursue developing high-quality infill opportunities, such as Alameda Point, with increased focus and commitment.”

The Bay Area is one of the most expensive and competitive in the nation, he noted. “Virtually all of our competitors are either public companies or institutional developers. We felt that creating a strong relationship with an experienced and well-capitalized group that wanted to actively participate and understood this market was key to providing a sustainable platform for our company and our people. We couldn’t have found a better partner than TCR.”

The venture plans to focus on core Bay Area infill locations that are transit-oriented, Dorfman said. This focus results in the partners being partial to sites that have substantial retail components as part of residential mixed-use projects. “In the past several years, we have entitled and developed sites in Silicon Valley, on the Peninsula, San Francisco and in the East Bay markets of Oakland, Emeryville, Walnut Creek, and Alameda,” he said.

He adds these areas will continue to be scoured for opportunities.

The new $500 million joint venture will fund the development of San Francisco Bay Area multifamily housing including part of Alameda Point, which would add 800 residential units, including 200 affordable homes, as well as retail and commercial space. Alameda Point is being developed on the site of a long-vacant naval air station. TDP is handling the 600 market-rate units in the development as part of a development partnership that includes srmErnst, Madison Marquette and Eden Housing.

“Having been active in the Bay Area housing market for three decades, we have a lot of local knowledge and a good understanding of the process required to develop infill properties,” Dorfman said.

“We have been involved with some of the most challenging entitlement projects,” he continued. “Our venture with TCR allows us to leverage off a tremendous company with a strong reputation, a long history and a significant balance sheet. We are very pleased to be in partnership with Trammell Crow Residential.”

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