The Registry
February 8, 2021
By Jon Peterson
Mill Valley-based Thompson Dorfman is in the very early planning stages with its housing asset in Belvedere known as Mallard Pointe. It’s a redevelopment project that the company spent $20.6 million to acquire in October of 2020, and it could eventually become an expanded residential complex with 44 units.
The owner of the property made a project presentation for preliminary review last week before the Belvedere City Council and Planning Commission. While the development is making its way through the planning process, the developer and the city hope to make Mallard Pointe a reality at some point in the future.
Thompson Dorfman declined to comment when contacted for this story. The capital used in the acquisition was primarily sourced from a number of family offices, according to sources aware of the transaction.
City officials have expressed their satisfaction with Thompson Dorfman’s proposals so far and its willingness to work with the community to deliver a sensible development that would enrich the small North Bay enclave. “I know for a fact that the property owner has a very strong reputation within our county from their previous projects. So far they have said all of the right things and are willing to meet with people in the neighborhood and receive input on what they are saying,” says James Campbell the active vice major for the City of Belvedere.
When Mallard Point was acquired, it was a development that had a total of 22 units. The long-term plan by Thompson Dorfman is to redevelop the property and expand the size of the development and double the number of units. The planned breakdown of the finished units would be a mixture of four single-family units, seven duplexes ,for a total of 14 units, and 26 flat/apartment units. The expansion of the property does follow the city’s general development plan so there is no re-zoning that would need to occur for the future plans for the property.
Mallard Pointe is located at 1-22 Mallard Road in Belvedere. The site of the property covers approximately 2.84 acres or 123,710 square feet. The asset was first developed in 1951, and there are three separate parcels of the project that make up the 22 duplexes in the property.
The existing asset as it stands now is essentially in the same state it was when it was first developed, according to a public document from the city of Belvedere. There have been building permits issued for maintenance work on the buildings to fix the roof, add new furnaces, new shingles, new windows and doors, and some of the units have had extensive interior remodels.
If the plans for Mallard Point are approved, Thompson Dorfman does have a plan for the current occupants of the 22 units. The company is working with Belvedere Land Company, which has over 100 rental properties where some of the existing occupants could move during the time the project is under construction.
