Veev allegedly defaults on 50-unit project in San Francisco

Modular homebuilding startup Veev, which is on the verge of shutting down, has allegedly defaulted on a planned 50-unit apartment complex in San Francisco’s Mission District. 

The Hayward-based company, which reached unicorn status in 2022, is accused of falling behind on loan payments for 1721 15th Street in Mission Dolores. The amount of unpaid debt on the property was $3.6 million as of February, according to a default notice filed by the lender, Santa Monica-based private equity firm Evergreen Advantage. Veev secured the $3.4 million loan on the property in June 2022. 

The project was proposed as a three-property prefabricated housing complex that would replace the former location of Jay’s Auto Body Center. The biggest piece of the assemblage was a six-story, 46-unit building along 15th Street, according to a previous report from Mission Local. There were also plans for a three-unit, three-story property and a one-story condominium at the back of the main structure. The 45,800-square-foot building was proposed as a 65-foot-tall structure. 

Amit Haller, Ami Avrahami and Dafna Akiva founded Veev in 2008 with the mission of shortening and simplifying construction by manufacturing buildings one wall at a time. The wall are then clicked into place at the project site. Haller now serves as Veev’s CEO.

The alleged default comes just months after the company informed staff of its impending closure. In a statement published in Calcalist, the company attributed the closure to a sudden cancellation of a capital-raising initiative. 

“Veev was in the process of raising capital, which was canceled at the last minute. In light of the current market situation in Israel and globally, it was not possible to secure additional funding,” the company wrote in a statement. “Therefore, the current entity of the company will be closed in the coming days and transferred to an assignee who will be in charge of the assets and their sale in the U.S.”

At the time, the firm announced that operations will continue until its U.S. assets are sold. The company also said that it would retain its employees in Israel.  

The company’s fortunes have soured compared to just two years ago, when it raised $400 million in a Series D round to reach unicorn status. Since it was founded in 2008, the firm has raised a total of $600 million. Veev did not respond to a request for comment.