Avant Housing president targets infill projects
San Francisco Business Times
Written by Kayla Platt
April 13, 2007
Paul Nieto, the president of Avant Housing LLC, will help meet the housing demands of a growing Bay Area workforce. Avant, a venture established in October 2006, will develop infill housing, primarily in the Bay Area. The housing is targeted at homebuyers who make, "100 percent to 200 percent of (the local) median income," defined in San Francisco as $91,000 to $182,000 for a family of four. But Nieto said the firm may also dabble in the high-end luxury market.
The firm is looking at sites in San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley and Walnut Creek.
"We are evaluating all of our transactions as if prices are going to remain flat for a year or so," Nieto said. "What makes it difficult is that there are so many variables on the cost side in the marketplace today. Job (growth in the Bay Area) is indicative of good things, but, on the cost side, things still haven't stabilized in building components."
Up the street from one of Avant's potential building sites in SoMa sits the SoMa Grand, the first joint venture between AGI Capital and TMG Partners, two San Francisco-based developers that are equal partners in Avant.
The third player in the new venture is CalPERS, which, at the end of January, had an investment portfolio with a market value of $232.5 billion, $18.3 billion of which was invested in real estate. CalPERS' partnership with Avant marks the first time that the public pension and health benefits manager will work directly with a developer.
Nieto, a soft-spoken Bay Area native, began his career in banking in Southern California and transitioned into real estate development in 1990. In 2004, Nieto joined TMG Partners to set up its San Diego office. He is looking forward to moving back to the Bay Area with his family this summer.
"Each market is different and has its own character. That's the part (about development) that I enjoy," said Nieto. "It's a challenge to do infill housing that will add to the fabric of each community."