For adding long-awaited, relatively affordable new rental housing units in the growing Stockton suburb of Tracy, California, The Vela garnered a 2023 CoStar Impact Award in the category of new multifamily development in the region.
Guardian Capital of Carlsbad, California, completed the 264-unit apartment complex last fall at 351 E. Valpico Road.
Developers said they were looking primarily to serve local residents who work in Tracy, rather than those commuting outside the city to places like the San Francisco Bay Area. The complex was planned to be affordable, with several of its units renting at rates below city averages. Tracy had not seen this type of development in several years.
Tracy is among locations that have benefited from an influx of new residents, including those escaping higher rents in the nearby Bay Area, according to a CoStar Market Analytics report.
That has helped to drive up rents well above Stockton regional averages, making more affordable units harder to find in Tracy. The city currently has no new apartment projects underway, and nothing has broken ground since the third quarter of 2022.
As of March 23, monthly asking rents at The Vela were averaging $2,654, below the Tracy city average of $2,730, CoStar data showed.
About the project: Developer Guardian Capital of Carlsbad, California, built the 264-unit apartment complex known as The Vela at 351 E. Valpico Road in Tracy, California.
What the judges said: “I think this will have a big impact,” said John Hillas, principal at Hillas Appraisal Co. “I like that it serves locals and not commuters, and affordable housing is always needed.”
They made it happen: Development was spearheaded by Guardian Capital’s Russell Rodriguez, Preston Underdown and Alex Glick.
