Lennar Chosen to Develop Homes at San Ramon’s Bishop Ranch

Lennar Homes will handle development of the next tranche of homes coming to Bishop Ranch.

The Miami-based home builder reached a deal to develop 25 acres of a 27-acre site in the mixed-use neighborhood in San Ramon, the Mercury News reported. Sunset Development, the principal owner and developer of Bishop Ranch, will maintain control of the remaining 2 acres.

Lennar’s new development, dubbed “Canopy,” will consist of 255 single-family homes near the corner of Executive Parkway and Bishop Drive, directly east of Interstate 680. To make way for the homes, three existing office buildings at 3000, 4000 and 5000 Executive Parkway — known collectively as BR8 — would be demolished.

The homes at Canopy will be centered around a five-block linear park. The development will also include a community pool, clubhouse, children’s play area and dog areas.

Bishop Ranch has grown from an office park in San Ramon to the heart of the East Bay city in recent years. The neighborhood spans 585 acres in total and contains 5 million square feet of offices, 1 million square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space and several hundred hotel rooms. The push for housing at Bishop Ranch is expected to generate 8,000 residences in a mix of single-family homes, condominiums, row houses and apartments.

“I know that adding people is going to drive the place forward,” Sunset Development CEO Alex Mehran Jr. told The Real Deal last year of Bishop Ranch’s housing expansion.

It’s been a busy month so far for Lennar in the Bay Area, as one of the country’s largest home builders strengthens its presence in the region. Last week, Lennar and TPG bought one of the last large undeveloped residential sites in Saratoga, scooping up 11.6 acres for $109.7 with plans to build 52 two-story single-family homes and 12 affordable accessory dwelling units.

At the same time, other builders are working to erect more residences at Bishop Ranch in the coming years. The City of San Ramon approved a 200-unit affordable development from Eden Housing last fall, and in April, the San Ramon City Council rejected an appeal seeking to block Sunset Development’s office-to-residential conversion plans for Chevron’s former home in Bishop Ranch that is expected to produce 2,600 homes, 125,000 square feet of retail and a 2.5-acre park. The month before, Van Daele Homes bought offices at Bishop Ranch for $11.1 million with plans to replace the 109,000-square-foot office building with 64 townhome condominiums and nine ADUs.

Lennar’s demolition of the existing BR8 building and construction on the Canopy project are expected in mid-to-late 2027, ConnectCRE reported.

— Chris Malone Méndez