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Old Posted Jan 13, 2008, 10:54 PM
BTinSF BTinSF is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: San Francisco & Tucson
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Friday, January 11, 2008
Bosa still bullish, buys again in Mission Bay
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen


Spencer Brown
“Moment of truth” approaches as Nat Bosa prepares to step up sales effort.
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Builder Bosa Development has bought another parcel in the burgeoning Mission Bay neighborhood, paying $13.5 million for a lot that has been approved for 270 residential units, according to Old Republic Title Co.

The lot, Parcel 5, is part of Bosa's plan to build 1,700 housing units in Mission Bay, a $1.7 billion bet that will eventually create a residential neighborhood amidst the rapidly growing biotech and University of California, San Francisco, research campus south of Mission Creek.

The parcel, sold by Pro Logis, is one of three lots along the park recently completed on the south side of Mission Creek.

The deal comes as Bosa has topped off the first 99-unit phase of the Radiance at Mission Bay and started construction on the second phase, which will have 317 units.

The first 99 units went on the market in April and just over 50 percent are in contract. Dennis Serraglio, Bosa's sales and marketing director, said most of the units went into contract in the first 60 days after the sales office opened. During the second half of 2007, Bosa sold an average of two units a month.

Serraglio said despite the national housing slowdown, and less than spectacular sales, Bosa has no intention of slowing its pace of development. He said the model units at the Radiance would be complete in March, giving prospective buyers a feel for the project's water views and amenities.

"We feel really good about it -- it's turning out better than we had imagined in terms of the proximity to water, the architecture and design," said Serraglio. "Some of the units we didn't think would have views are turning out to have super water views.

Bosa President Nat Bosa said the sales and marketing efforts would step up once the building's display units are complete and a move-in date is approaching.

"That is when the moment of truth will be known." said Bosa.

Bosa acknowledged that the subprime-fueled national real estate downturn has "put a cloud over everything," but he said San Francisco's healthy job growth and supply-constrained building environment make him cautiously optimistic.

"This is a learning curve in San Francisco -- I'm glad we went ahead with the little building first to work out the kinks," he said. "With all the negative news, people need some assurances that the world is not going to fall apart. We have a great site, a great product, and it's priced right."

Bosa units are larger than other new city developments -- an average of 1,350 square feet -- and are on the upper end of the price scale. Bosa said his construction costs are still rising; he said he would not be able to sell phase two of the Radiance for less than $1,000 a square foot.

"Otherwise we can't afford to build it," he said. "Those are the realities that we face."

jkdineen@bizjournals.com / (415) 288-4971
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranci...ml?t=printable
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