Villas at Bair Island
Redwood City,CA
 | | Landscape Architect: The Guzzardo Partnership |
The Villas at Bair Island Marina is the only rental community with a marina built on San Francisco Bay in the past thirty years and the first with a focus on luxury. The Villas consists of 155 apartment units surrounding a 100-slip marina completed in early 2000 at a cost of $40 million. The property is located within 1/2 mile of the Bayshore Freeway (US 101), offering residents convenient access to the major employment centers in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Incorporating a design theme heavily influenced by Mediterranean-style architecture, the project evokes an Italian fishing village with its colorful and well-detailed buildings adjacent to the marina. The community building and leasing office, fitness center, junior Olympic-size pool and spa are all centrally located to maximize views and to provide a private area sheltered from the Bay winds. The project amenities are accessible from each apartment by a 1/4-mile-long boardwalk that is one of The Villas' unique features. In order to respond to the desires of the luxury renter, The Villas offers large one, two, and three-bedroom flats and townhomes, many with individual direct access garages. All units feature gas appliances, 9-foot ceilings (the loft units feature 16-foot ceilings), state-of-the-art telecommunication systems, large outdoor balconies or patios, and unparalleled views of the surrounding open space and marina.
 | | Project Architect: Backen Arrigoni & Ross |
The Villas at Bair Island Marina is an example of Thompson|Dorfman's ability to "fix" broken deals. Originally entitled in the early '90s as a 119-unit condominium and 100-slip marina project, the site sat dormant after the original developer abandoned the project for economic reasons during the initial site work phase of construction. The principals of Thompson|Dorfman contracted to purchase the site in mid-1996 and redesigned the site to its current program and configuration by year-end. However, due to the environmental sensitivity of the lands neighboring the site, the entitlement process to approve the new submission was difficult. A myriad of agencies and organizations were involved in the approval process including the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bay Conservation District Commission, California EPA, CalTrans, the Port of Redwood City, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, as well as the City of Redwood City. The principals of Thompson|Dorfman navigated the project through the various Federal and State agencies and it sailed through City review receiving approvals within 5 months of formal submission. The Villas at Bair Island has become one of the most successful projects in the Bay Area both aesthetically and economically as absorption and rental rates have achieved record levels.
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