"Ellis Partners and Spirit Living Group submitted plans in December for the seven-story, 203-unit building on Claremont Avenue, next to the pink property that used to house The Graduate bar. The apartments would be market-rate, including some memory-care and assisted-living units. "There is very, very, very little senior housing in the East Bay, writ large, especially compared to what the demand is," said Patrick Flynn, senior vice president with San Francisco-based Ellis Partners."
"When the Red Cross relocated its blood donation center and related operations in 2023 and 2024, Ellis Partners jumped at the opportunity to submit a bid for purchase and development. At first, the firm proposed a standard, all-ages market-rate project and was rejected in favor of another developer's affordable housing proposal, according to Ellis, but that didn't pan out. Ellis then successfully pitched the senior housing."
"The property - a large, unused parcel directly across from Safeway, around the corner from College Avenue shops, and half a mile from BART - is a rarity in the Bay Area. "It's a little over an acre in size, which is not easy to find," said Flynn. "It's a very walkable location and seniors generally tend not to drive that much." With seven stories plus a mezzanine, most of the proposed building is about 83 feet tall, with two areas reaching about 93 feet."
Ellis Partners and Spirit Living Group proposed a seven-story, 203-unit senior housing building on Claremont Avenue in Rockridge, including market-rate apartments plus memory-care and assisted-living units. The property became available after the Red Cross relocated its blood donation center and related operations in 2023 and 2024, and Ellis holds an option agreement while the city reviews the project. The site is slightly over an acre, across from Safeway and about half a mile from BART. Two architecture firms, Jones and BDE, are designing a building mostly about 83 feet tall with two areas near 93 feet. Developers intend to use California's density bonus to exceed the local 55-foot zoning limit, and some neighbors are opposing the proposal.
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