OWow uses density bonus to supersize Oakland apartment project

OWow will employ a new state density bonus to hike the size of a proposed apartment building in Oakland.

The locally based developer used Assembly Bill 1287 to file revised plans for a 105-unit complex at 3403 Piedmont Avenue, next to I-580, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The increase comes after oWow in November had boosted the number of apartments in the eight-story building to 93, from 73.

The move joins a growing number of developers adding more units to make their projects pencil out because of high costs and tough market conditions, according to the newspaper.

AB 1287, which went into effect this year, allows developers to include up to twice as many units in a project as local zoning allows, as long as it includes a certain percentage of affordable housing.

In its second revised application, oWow included 29 affordable units, three for very low-income households and 26 for moderate-income households, earning it the bonus.

The developer has used AB 1287 to supersize two other projects 1523 Harrison Street in Oakland and 960 Howard Street in San Francisco after the law went into effect in January.

Andy Ball, president at oWow, had said the bonus would boost the return and yield for greater financial feasibility.

Rising construction costs and low rents caused by an influx of housing projects in and around Oakland have made several residential projects no longer pencil, according to the Business Journal. Other developers besides oWow have used the density bonus to refloat projects.

Rhode Island-based developer Gilbane employed AB 1287 to increase the overall size of its apartment project at 2115 Kittredge Street, in Berkeley, with larger units sought by student tenants.

Yes Duffy Architects and Rhodes Planning Group also used AB 1287 to boost their residential project to 20 stories at 2421, 2425 and 2427 Durant Avenue,in Berkeley. The project could destroy three Victorian buildings a block from the UC Berkeley campus.

OWow, founded in 2017 by Danny Haber and Alon Gutman, is known for using mass timber construction to build housing in less time and at lower cost. The developer is also working on a 28-story, 496-unit apartment highrise at 1523 Harrison Street in Downtown Oakland, and a 19-story, 236-unit highrise at 1510 Webster Street.

— Dana Bartholomew