Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) recently announced that construction has begun on the Alexan Downtown Danville, a new, $90-million apartment community in Contra Costa County. The project, scheduled for completion in summer 2020, will offer 144 luxury apartment homes located within walking distance of Danville’s Historic Downtown District.

“This is the first apartment development of scale that has been approved by the Town of Danville in decades,” said TCR’s Senior Managing Director Bruce Dorfman in news release. “Danville is one of the East Bay’s most prestigious and supply-constrained communities. The existing apartment stock is very limited and does not contain any Class A product and, with an average vacancy of 1 percent, renters have very few options. Pair that with the lack of affordability of for-sale housing, and Alexan Downtown Danville will provide a favorable option for first-class living.” 

TCR is the developer and builder of the project, while LCA Architects is project architect; Gates + Associates is the landscape designer; and Carlson, Barbee & Gibson is the civil engineer. TCR’s equity partner for the Alexan Downtown Danville is Barings Real Estate Advisers and the construction lender is Wells Fargo.

The Alexan Downtown Danville will offer convenient access to I-680 freeway and the East Bay’s major job centers as well as the Walnut Creek BART Station eight miles north of the site. Dorfman says TCR is working with the city to build a pedestrian bridge over San Ramon Creek to provide a direct link from the new apartment community to Danville’s Historic Downtown District, the public library, Danville Community Center, schools, and other public amenities.

Residents of Alexan Downtown Danville will enjoy units that are well-appointed and offer finishes more frequently found in custom single-family homes, say project officials. The apartment community’s amenities include a clubhouse with a lounge, conference room and business center, state-of-the-art fitness center, and a package concierge.

Outdoor amenities include a resort-style pool and spa, fire pit, an outdoor kitchen, grill stations and dining area, children’s play area, pet park, and vista overlooking the adjacent San Ramon Creek. Alexan Downtown Danville will also have gated, private subterranean parking with electric vehicle charging stations.

Dorfman told me that his team had to address two significant construction challenges on Alexan Downtown Danville project. “The first dealt with the possibility of finding Native American artifacts from tribes that lived on the banks of San Ramon Creek,” he says. “Consequently, we were closely monitoring the excavation of the site as we were digging the basement. Fortunately, all we uncovered during this phase of construction was dirt.”

The second issues was when they were excavating the subterranean garage during the record rains of this past winter. “This caused a schedule delay of three months and increased costs relative to winterizing the site,” says Dorfman. “ However, by resequencing work on site, we have been able to our maintain our original schedule.”

The unit mix at Alexan Downtown Danville consists of a wide variety of floor plans including studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes, ranging in size from approximately 500-sq-ft to 1,600-sq-ft.  

Dorfman says the project will also be sustainable, as it will exceed the standards of “California’s strict Green Building Code which covers energy reduction and water conservation requirements.” Some sustainable highlights include solar panels, six electric vehicle charging stations, drought-resistant landscaping, and water-conserving fixtures and appliances. The building has also been designed and sited to reduce energy demand through passive solar building design.