Bisnow/Allen Matkins SF Construction Summit - Eric Foster, Swinerton Builders
For Swinerton Builders, apartments are the hot market in San Francisco right now with three projects totaling 1,400 units under construction, according to EVP and regional manager Eric Foster. But what's really has been the revitalization of mid-Market--from Fifth to 10th has been a tough area for 40 years. Eric sees a lot of Downtown rental product coming down the pipeline, and with a 22-year-old daughter at home, he says that's just what the City needs. "I'm building her [an apartment] as fast as I can, but the rents have to come down." On other topics, he said the technology for real-time estimating is here right now,, but the challenge is to have a common vocabulary for all the folks involved. With a shortage of high-quality laborers like electricians and plumbers in the Bay Area, we need to encourage young people to go into the trades.