New apartments will be pricey to rent

After nearly 15 years of no apartment construction, Pleasanton will see its count of multi-family units soar this year and next.
There are five projects completed or underway that total 1,228 units—three are in Hacienda Business Park, while the others are at Stanley and Bernal and next to I-680 off Bernal. In January 2014, the city had 25,628 housing units of which 18,854 were single-family.
That leaves 6,774 as multi-family and mobile homes, according to Adam Weinstein, the city’s planning manager. The majority are multi-family because the city only has two mobile home parks on Vineyard Avenue. The city does not track whether the multi-family units are owner-occupied or rentals.
What will be interesting is what type of tenants are attracted as the landlords strive to fill up these new units. The units will be pricey. For instance, studio units at the Galloway across from BART on Willow Road start at $2,167 and are 591 square feet.
Elsewhere one-bedroom units start at $2,800 per month depending on the amenities (elevators and garages) and location (walking to BART). You can also find units at up to $4,000 per month for larger two bedroom or three-bedroom apartments. Thanks to Fran Reisner in the city’s housing department for these numbers.

The bottom line: these are not affordable housing units. Renters will need significant monthly incomes to move into these new units.
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess, for instance, how many families with school-aged children will move into the new units. A significant influx of new families will have an impact on the school district—time will tell on that one. The district has had a remarkably stable enrollment over the last several years, although elementary school enrollment dropped this year.
And, it will be interesting to watch the lease market with some many units coming on line in a relatively short time. Will Pleasanton be an attractive community for millennials who are single or married and have not started a family. Lots of the turnover in existing neighborhoods is being driven by professional couples making good money who are ready to start a family.
And is there enough pent-up demand to lease up 1,228 units within about a year? The new units will add about 18 percent to the city’s multi-family housing stock.