“The pendulum has shifted,” said Michael Reynolds, managing partner of developer Embarcadero Pacific, which specializes in high-density urban infill projects.

In 2009, his firm opened The Bond, a 101-unit complex in Oakland’s Jack London Square area, as rental apartments. Now it’s switching the building over to condos, taking advantage of buyers’ avid appetites for real estate and the dearth of for-sale inventory. About a quarter of the units have sold in less than three months.

“Rents are rising too quickly that if you can make a down payment, the cost of ownership is lower than leasing,” Reynolds said. With a boutique hotel feel, the building has units ranging from $350,000 for a one-bedroom to $1.25 million for a top-floor galleria penthouse.

The Bond was always intended to start off as rentals and then switch to condos when the time was right. But other complexes that opened during the downturn intending to be for-sale had no choice but to become rentals “when the music stopped,” as Reynolds put it.

Condo to rental, back

For instance, the 125-unit Broadway Grand in Oakland, developed by Signature Properties, first opened as a condo complex, sold 17 units, and then switched to rentals as the market tanked, said Paul Zeger, a principal at PolarisPacific, which is marketing it and some other conversion projects. Last year it went condo again, and now has sold all but 11 of its units.

Similarly, the Skyline in San Jose with 121 units is now switching to condos after opening as rentals during the downturn. In Emeryville, the 424-unit Bridgewater is switching from rentals to condos. The current phase II, which started in June with 174 homes ranging from $185,000 to $450,000, is finding a receptive audience, said Alan Mark, president of the Mark Co., which is marketing the complex.

Other Oakland complexes, including 288 Third and Uptown, have already made the switch.

With only a few dozen condos on the market, the conversions stand out.

“The (East Bay) condos that are for sale are snapped up quickly,” said Anne Feste, an agent with The Grubb Co.

Some buildings benefit from Oakland transport changes. “Transportation options have blossomed with the Free B downtown Oakland shuttle (which runs along Broadway from Jack London Square to Downtown, Uptown and beyond) and the SouthSF Ferry for people in the tech world to get to work,” Feste said.

‘More for your money’

Then there’s the affordability factor.

“You get a lot more for your money in the East Bay,” said Mike Wilkes, who recently relocated from Portland, Ore., with his husband, Grant Barth. “We would pay easily over $1 million in San Francisco for something comparable to what we bought for under $700,000 at The Bond.”

The East Bay and South Bay apartment buildings’ switch to condos is worlds away from San Francisco’s contentious condo conversions of tenant-in-common units, which generally are in buildings with just a handful of units. The current breed of condo conversions involve properties that were approved as condos before they were even constructed. That means going condo is relatively simple.

“Demand has spiked for for-sale housing,” Zeger said. “Buildings that have a ‘condo map’ (meaning they’re already approved for condo sales) in the local municipality can just go to the Bureau of Real Estate” to get final approvals.

When a rental building goes condo, generally existing tenants have the first right to purchase their units at the public price. If they don’t want to buy, they finish out their leases, which can then be terminated by the developer. There’s also turnover in the normal course of affairs.

Harder to get a loan

“We gain vacancies through natural attrition as renters move out,” Reynolds said. “We then refurbish the units with new finishes and put them out for sale so part of the building is leased, part is owner-occupied.”

However, that mixture can make it harder to get a home loan. In today’s stricter climate, lenders often require a minimum percentage of owner-occupied units before they’ll issue mortgages in a condo complex.

“It’s much more difficult to get Fannie Mae approval when you’re converting a building,” Mark said. The agency requires condo conversions to pre-sell 70 percent of units to owner-occupants before it will back mortgages, he said, but sometimes agrees to reduce that requirement a degree.

The apartment-to-condo trajectory is less likely to happen in San Francisco, where about 8,000 rental units are under construction. That’s because most were financed in a way that requires they generate rental income for many years, Zeger said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Bay-Area-rental-pendulum-swings-to-condos-4740789.php

So, how did I wind up here? I grew up in suburban Rochester, New York with a mother and father from rural parts of Louisiana and Virginia, respectfully. I’m not from the ‘hood, even though that’s where I live and work now. I also don’t pretend to be from the ‘hood. I don’t even pretend to be a “celebrity” chef, even though some people see me as such. I’m just Tanya from the block (or, cul de sac, actually.) But as we all know, location is everything. Where we are from shapes and defines us all.

The same is true in the restaurant business. Location dictates concept, and often dictates success. I fell in love with Oakland when I moved here from New York in 2003. I love the weather, the diversity, and the history. I saw a lot of opportunity, and I knew I had to open my first restaurant here. So, I immediately started shopping my business plan for a Creole bistro. Steak frites, lentil salads, onion soup… I’ve always wanted to put my Creole spin on this classic French outlet!

I spent a couple of years looking all around downtown Oakland and Jack London Square in the waterfront/port area of Oakland. I was aiming to open in a neighborhood with lots of weekday business diners and a large residential crowd for dinners. The best way to start in this business is to start with a location that was formerly a restaurant. It’s ideal if you don’t have to build the restaurant from the ground up, which can get pricy.

In 2005, my husband and I got caught up in the frenzy that was the Bay Area real estate boom. The only affordable home we could find was in West Oakland. We are, admittedly, “urban adventurers,” as marketers like to call us. Being from the East Coast, we’ve witnessed numerous neighborhoods go through positive transitions. West Oakland was once a gem of a middle class neighborhood formed by African Americans who worked as porters in the railroad industry. Highways that were built in the 1950′s had partially “divided and conquered” the neighborhood and crime flourished in the latter half of the 20th century. Currently, things are on the upswing and folks are moving back to West Oakland, including many young professionals who were priced out of the San Francisco housing market.

Immediately, we had faith in West Oakland. Its proximity to the Bay is amazing. We stand by our word…it’s the most convenient neighborhood in the Bay Area… 10 minutes to downtown SF (you can’t even get there that fast from the Golden Gate Bridge), 45 minutes to Napa… HELLO! 3.5 hours to Tahoe, etc. There is a reason people move to California and never leave.

West Oakland is also quite diverse… a quality we value as a mixed couple — he Jewish, me black. We also value economic and educational diversity. I am a black girl who went to an elite East Coast university who married a Jewish guy who didn’t go to college. We wanted to live in a community where none of that really matters. And I wanted to create a restaurant with the same feeling, where everyone is embraced.

When I was looking for restaurant spaces in downtown Oakland, the pickings were very slim. After living in West Oakland for almost two years, it hit me: I’m living in a city of 420,000, right next to San Francisco, yet there is nowhere in my neighborhood I can walk to even get a cup of coffee. There were no amenities in my neighborhood, and in general, Oaklanders are forced to spend their money outside of town. To borrow from my old colleague, Emeril, “BAM!” — I saw the opportunity right in front of me in the form of a local joint, four blocks from my home that was rarely open. They sold an average coffee blend, but hey, it was local! It was also run by a nice Jamaican, but his hours were erratic to say the least. His kitchen was spotless, and the setting in industrial West Oakland was unique. I soon learned that he was looking to “exit the business,” due to too much overhead.

My dream “bistro” locations in downtown Oakland weren’t presenting themselves, and the draw of working in a gleaming new kitchen four blocks from home was too great. I knew that a bistro wasn’t the concept for West Oakland. I thought that diners wouldn’t venture to this neighborhood at night.

In my research, I met a lot of people who were trying to revitalize West Oakland, and I discovered that redevelopment money was available for small businesses making a go of it. I knew there was an existing and new captive audience. I thought, coffee, bakery, maybe a breakfast sandwich on artisanal baked bread, organic cheese, local eggs and voila! Then, I had to think of a name that was accessible to this community. It seemed that the esoteric names of some of my colleagues, and even the name I was thinking for the bistro, were too sophisticated for this location. I thought of my favorite and frequent ingredients and I thought about the exposed kitchen at this location. Not to mention, “I” was in the kitchen.

I successfully purchased the business from the Jamaican guy and I got some local real estate developers to invest, but most people I talked to thought I picked the craziest location… so off the beaten track with no other real retail to speak of except for the storage facility next door. But just like in “Field of Dreams,” I built it and they came. I’m proud to have opened Brown Sugar Kitchen on Martin Luther King’s birthday in 2008 on Nelson Mandela Parkway, in what we like to call Sweet West Oakland.

And now they come from all over the country (my little 50-seat restaurant looks like the model UN and I love it!) to eat the extended menu that has become unchangeable at Brown Sugar Kitchen. Especially the Chicken and Waffles! I trained in France where I learned to cook crepes, not waffles! I never planned to fry chicken all day long, but I’m happy to be a part of the transformation of Sweet West Oakland, no matter what it takes.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tanya-holland/brown-sugar-kitchen_b_935444.html

Shared NFL stadium could be real treasure

With the 49ers and the Raiders needing new stadiums, talk heated up again earlier this week about the teams joining forces to build and share a facility.

The NFL reportedly has encouraged the teams to work together, much as the Giants and Jets did in New Jersey, but one obstacle stands in the way.

As they say in real estate: location, location, location.

The 49ers are working on a plan in Santa Clara, and Raiders boss Al Davis has repeatedly said Oakland is the best place for his team.

Is there a neutral site in the Bay Area that would be acceptable to both?

Many argue that Santa Clara would be ideal. Others have suggested Fremont, Jack London Square in Oakland and San Jose.

OK, we know it’s a bit crazy, but here’s a thought: Why not Treasure Island?

The man-made 400- acre island between the two Bay Bridge spans was created to host the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939-40 and it was initially planned as the site for San Francisco’s first international airport.

Sure, traffic would be a huge issue, but ferries could shuttle fans from all sides of the bay; how much fun would that be ? take the train from downtown Sacramento to Jack London Square, have breakfast, then hop a ferry to the game?

If you think ATT Park looks great on national TV, imagine how Treasure Island Stadium would look.

What to watch

Baseball, Giants at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m., CSNBA: Ryan Vogelsong goes for the ninth victory in his dream season.

Today’s poll

Where should a shared football stadium in the Bay Area be built?

? San Francisco

? Oakland

? Santa Clara

? Treasure Island

? Both teams should have their own stadium

Vote above or leave your comments in the comment field; Or, go to www.sacbee.com/sports

Thursday’s poll results

Best free-agent cornerback the 49ers should target?

? Nnamdi Asomugha: 82%

? Antonio Cromartie: 3%

? Johnathan Joseph: 12%

? Ike Taylor: 3%

Total votes: 331

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Contact Tom Couzens at tcouzens@sacbee.com or (916) 321-1097.

? Read more articles by Tom Couzens

Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/29/3802618/leading-off-shared-nfl-stadium.html