Which Part of Novato's Fireman's Fund Redevelopment Is Actually Moving First?
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Most people in Novato have heard that the former Fireman's Fund campus at 777 San Marin Drive was approved for more than a thousand homes. In fall 2026, the applications moving through City Hall cover a smaller, more specific piece of the project. The first pieces to show up in permit filings are the detached single-family neighborhoods, and as of October 2026 those applications are still listed as incomplete.
If you're comparing Novato with other Marin and Sonoma towns, that gap matters. The project's headline number describes what the land is allowed to hold. The homes you could actually tour this year are already in Novato's resale market, and this fall there are more of them than last year.
On January 23, 2024, the Novato City Council approved entitlements for the property. Call Marin Home lists the project as "Approved" for 1,081 units, 260 of them affordable. According to the City of Novato's project page, the land-use designation and zoning were amended that same month. The master plan covers 44 of the site's 65 acres and allows 1,000 to 1,300 primary homes, plus accessory and junior accessory dwellings.
That approval set the rules for the land. It didn't approve any specific houses. The city's page says future projects still need design review, subdivision approvals where they apply, and building permits, and that the developer decides when to file each application. The plan allows detached single-family homes and multifamily buildings ranging from two or three stories up to five, with shared outdoor areas, greenbelts and a pedestrian connection to the San Marin SMART station.
Clearing the old campus was the visible step. The city's notice said demolition would start on or shortly after September 8, 2025. It covered the buildings, parking, utilities, the pond and the landscaping. The Press Democrat reported demolition still underway on December 2, 2025. An empty site and an approved plan still leave every house-level decision open.
The landowner is San Marin Owner, LLC, which the Press Democrat identified as an affiliate of Bay West Development. On March 2, 2026, it filed a vesting tentative map, application P2026-009, for 773, 775 and 777 San Marin Drive. The city's map page breaks the proposal down this way:
| Piece of the filing | Count | How the city describes it |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family lots | 119 | Lots on the vesting tentative map |
| Townhome lots | 84 | Lots on the vesting tentative map |
| Multifamily apartments | 725 | "Anticipated" on three separate parcels |
| Total in this filing | 928 | Below the 1,081 figure used in regional planning |
Apartments make up roughly three of every four units in the filing. The 260 affordable homes trace back to the housing element scenario, which the Press Democrat described in September 2025 as 130 very-low-income homes and 130 low-income homes.
None of the documents we reviewed explain why the filing adds up to 928 units when the approval says 1,081. Accessory units or the scope of the map could account for some of the difference, but the city hasn't said so. Read both numbers as figures from filed documents, not as a final count. The documents also don't spell out which homes will be sold and which will be rented, beyond describing the apartment parcels as multifamily.
The map page still says "Current Status as of 03/24/26." The city's September 2026 Current Planning Projects log is more recent, and it shows the developer moving Districts SM1 and SM2, labeled "Detached Single Family," on a separate track.
The sequence through early October looks like this:
The log assigns the map to the Planning Commission. The design review applications' review body is listed as "TBD." Planning Commission agendas for April 13, May 11, July 27 and September 14, 2026 had no item for the former campus. The September 14 meeting did take up a San Marin Drive project, but it was at 200 San Marin Drive, a different site. The map page says the level of environmental review is still being assessed, and that workshop dates will be posted when available.
The 275 dwellings for SM1 and SM2 don't match the 119 single-family lots in the March map. A density bonus request could explain the larger figure, but the log doesn't break it down. Either way, the detached homes are the part of the project most like the existing houses around San Marin. As of October 12, 2026, they have no hearing date, construction start or sales launch on record.
With nothing at the former campus on a sales calendar, buyers this season are choosing from Novato's existing homes. According to TrendVision's partial-month snapshot for September 1 to 28, 2026, which covers all residential property types in Novato, the market looked like this compared with the same dates in 2025:
More homes came to market and more went into contract, and the homes that sold moved faster. That pattern points to more selection without much slowdown. The median mixes property types across a partial month, so it shows which homes happened to close, not what any one house is worth. Novato also differs from the county here. A countywide report published in early August 2026 counted 367 homes for sale across Marin, down 27% from a year earlier. The two reports cover different areas and time periods, so they don't compare directly. Still, they suggest Novato's inventory has been moving differently from the county's.
So for someone deciding between Novato and nearby towns this fall, the former Fireman's Fund campus isn't adding homes to choose from. The resale market is.
The longer-term change for the San Marin side of town is how the site connects to transit. The approved master plan includes a pedestrian connection to the San Marin SMART station. The Transportation Authority of Marin's final Marin County Mobility Hub Plan, dated August 2026, still lists the former campus as planned for residential redevelopment and describes it as 1,081 units on 36 acres. That acreage differs from the city's 44 acres, and neither source explains the difference. The same report proposes separate improvements on Rush Landing Road and Redwood Boulevard, including bulbouts, refuge islands, high-visibility crossings, curb ramps and bikeway markings. It also flags gaps at the Redwood Boulevard and US-101 interchange.
The current application documents don't include a detailed path to the station or a project-specific change to San Marin Drive or Highway 101 access. The February 25, 2026 plan set labels a preliminary site plan for SM1, SM2 and SM3, but its text doesn't include a phasing schedule.
The applicant is San Marin Owner, LLC, with Pete Beritzhoff listed as the contact. A 2021 North Bay Business Journal report said the entity was led by Bay West Development and Forum Investment Group. None of the documents we reviewed name a homebuilder partner.
A 2021 concept mentioned possible ground-floor retail, a community plaza and a bike bridge over San Marin Drive. By January 2024, NorthBay biz described the plan as having "very limited retail." The city's current description doesn't list a retail program.
The city's master-plan page says an EIR addendum covered up to 1,300 homes and that no further environmental review was expected for future proposals. For the current map application, the city page still says the appropriate level of review is being assessed.
The vesting tentative map page has an email signup for meeting notices. The city's monthly planning projects log is where status changes have appeared first.
If you're weighing a home near San Marin Drive, or wondering how this project fits into your plans to sell in Novato, Tim McKee can go through the current resale listings and the city's filings with you. Schedule a free consultation and home valuation to see how your timing lines up with this fall's Novato market.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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