What Holliday Development does

Holliday Development is a privately held, owner-operated real estate development firm founded in 1988 by Rick Holliday and headquartered in Emeryville, California. The company specializes in adaptive reuse of historic industrial buildings, live/work loft conversions, and transit-oriented mixed-use communities across the San Francisco Bay Area, with selected expansion into Sacramento, Truckee, and Contra Costa County. Its portfolio spans more than 25 projects and 3,000+ residential units, ranging from pioneering 1988-era SOMA loft conversions (601 4th Street, The Clocktower, 355 Bryant) to recent transit-oriented developments such as the 743-unit El Cerrito BART project and the 1,200–1,500 unit Central Station master plan in West Oakland.

The firm operates a project-based development model in which Holliday Development serves as fee-developer on individual sites, securing entitlements, assembling capital stacks from public and private sources, and partnering with long-tenured architects, engineers, and contractors (David Baker + Partners, Tipping Mar, Cannon Constructors) to deliver mixed-income communities that combine market-rate condos, affordable rental units, senior housing, and ground-floor retail. Revenue is generated through three streams: development fees, one-time for-sale unit sales (e.g., 5800 Third Street sold 75% of 137 units at $300K–$500K), and recurring rental income from retained affordable and market-rate apartments. A distinctive technical capability is the firm's partnership with Factory OS, a modular construction startup also owned by Rick Holliday, which delivers 20–50% per-unit cost savings and 40% faster schedules on off-site-built projects such as 5880 Third Street and a 300-unit Google order valued at $25–30M.

The company's go-to-market is hybrid: a sales-led motion that pursues complex public-private partnerships with municipal agencies and institutional capital (Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Citi Community Capital, State of California), combined with a community-led approach centered on extensive neighborhood engagement in markets such as Bayview, West Oakland, SOMA, and Truckee. Customers are end-buyers and renters spanning workforce/middle-income professionals (notably employees of Apple, Google, and Genentech at Pacific Cannery Lofts), affordable housing seekers, artists, and seniors. Marketing is driven almost entirely by earned media coverage in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and San Francisco Chronicle, supported by per-project websites rather than paid channels.

Name

Holliday Development

Legal name

Holliday Development

Website

https://hollidaydevelopment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Holliday Development is a private Bay Area real estate developer founded in 1988 that specializes in adaptive reuse, live/work lofts, and transit-oriented mixed-use communities, serving workforce buyers, affordable housing seekers, artists, and seniors across 3,000+ delivered units.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Emeryville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Development Fees: Holliday Development earns development fees as the primary developer on projects. The company serves as fee-developer managing construction, entitlements, and project delivery for both market-rate and affordable housing projects.
2. Property Sales: Revenue from selling condominium and townhome units to buyers. Projects include workforce housing, market-rate units, and mixed-income developments where units are sold to individual buyers.
3. Rental Income: Revenue from rental apartments and lofts, including both market-rate and affordable rental units managed as ongoing income-producing properties.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Holliday Development is a private real estate development company that creates mixed-use residential communities through adaptive reuse of historic industrial buildings and new construction. The company specializes in complex, difficult infill projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, combining affordable and market-rate housing with retail and community spaces, and delivering projects through live/work loft conversions, modular construction, and transit-oriented developments.

Product overview

Holliday Development is a real estate development company that specializes in creating vibrant mixed-use communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Their portfolio consists of distinct residential development projects including live/work loft conversions (The Clocktower, 601 4th Street), adaptive reuse of historic buildings (Pacific Cannery Lofts), transit-oriented developments (Central Station, Iron Horse Lofts, 5800 Third Street), master plan communities (Truckee Railyard), and mixed-use projects (The Intersection, Warehouse Artist Lofts). The company focuses on sustainable, cutting-edge development combining affordable and market-rate housing with retail and community spaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Clocktower Live/work community conversion of a historic clock tower building adjacent to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, featuring 127 units with interior courtyards and rooftop garden.
• 601 4th Street Live/work loft conversion of the Heublein Building, a historic wine distributorship in San Francisco's SOMA district, featuring 85 units including studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and penthouse units.
• Pacific Cannery Lofts Adaptive reuse of a historic 1919 cannery into 163 mixed units including studios, flats, and loft townhouses around three open-air courts in West Oakland.
• Central Station

Quantifiable outcome

• Modular construction reduces costs by 20-50% compared to conventional building methods
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Satellite Affordable Housing AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developer on the 743-unit El Cerrito BART transit-oriented development project, partnering with Holliday Development and Related California to deliver affordable and market-rate housing replacing surface parking.
• Related CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developer on the 743-unit El Cerrito BART transit-oriented development project, partnering with Holliday Development and Satellite Affordable Housing Associates.
• BRIDGE HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRick Holliday is co-founder and chairman of BRIDGE Housing. Long-term partnership spanning 27+ years. Joint development on Central Station (with Pulte Homes, HFH Housing, and City of Oakland), Iron Horse Lofts (with BRIDGE Housing Corporation), and other projects.
• David Baker + Partners ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Baker and Rick Holliday have worked together for more than 25 years. Dave designed BRIDGE Housing's first two high profile developments in San Francisco. They created the live/work loft concept that revolutionized Bay Area infill housing. Projects include 601 4th Street, Clocktower, The Intersection, and Pacific Cannery Lofts.
• Cannon ConstructorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLarry Pace has been integral to HD's success over 18 years. Managed reconstruction of Clocktower Lofts while assisting with marketing. Contributes to post-construction efficiency for both development team and buyers. Primary contractor on multiple projects including The Intersection, Jamestown/Candlestick, and 5880 Third Street modular project.
• Tipping Mar EngineerscoreTechnology or IntegrationProfessional relationship spans over 20 years. Steve Tipping instrumental in designing efficient structural systems for Holliday Development's first five renovation projects. Continues to provide essential structural engineering for future projects.
• Factory OScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRick Holliday is owner and CEO of Factory OS, a modular-home startup in Vallejo. Factory OS facility spans nearly 260,000 square feet. Partnership to produce modular housing reducing construction costs by 20-50%. Google deal for 300 units valued at $25-30 million.
• Town of TruckeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst time Truckee has partnered this closely with a developer. Town and developer marching in lockstep since 2002 planning grant. Town awarded $350,000 planning grant. Partnership on 75-acre Truckee Railyard Master Plan redevelopment.
• Union Pacific RailroadcoreOthersUnion Pacific owned most of the land at Truckee Railyard. Sold significant portion to Holliday Development in 2004. Holliday Development agreed to pay for new UP maintenance buildings at estimated $7-8 million cost. Negotiations included CPUC approval for three new railroad crossings.
• CFY DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Warehouse Artist Lofts in Sacramento and Truckee Railyard Artist Lofts. CFY specializes in affordable housing using Low Income Housing Tax Credits. First partnership in 2012 produced WAL in six months. Truckee Artist Lofts project targeting 77 affordable units for creative community.
• Foothill Partners / Nugget MarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDouglas Wiele of Foothill Partners signed letter of intent to purchase land at Truckee Railyard to build 35,000 sq ft Nugget Market grocery store. Family-owned since 1926, ranked on Forbes top 100 best companies to work for.
• Eden HousingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRick Holliday co-founded Eden Housing in Hayward, one of the most successful nonprofit housing companies in the country. Nancy Holliday partnership on interiors projects for affordable housing corporations including BRIDGE, Eden Housing, and Mid Peninsula Housing.
• Pacific UnionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional relationship with Peter Palmisano began in 1985 when Pacific Union partnered with BRIDGE Housing on Parkview Commons. Close business and personal relationship continues with Rick Holliday through HD's development projects.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• L+M Development Partners: National affordable and market-rate multifamily developer. Directly comparable because L+M acquired Holliday Development's Candlestick Heights project (198 units) financed with $50M in LIHTC, executing the same mixed-income Bay Area playbook at greater scale.
• Related California: California arm of The Related Companies focused on large-scale mixed-use and TOD. Co-developer with Holliday Development on the 743-unit El Cerrito BART TOD, making it a directly comparable co-development partner pursuing similar affordable/market-rate transit-oriented projects in California.
• BRIDGE Housing: California nonprofit affordable and mixed-income housing developer co-founded by Rick Holliday. Built on the same public-private partnership model as Holliday Development and a frequent co-developer (Central Station, Iron Horse Lofts), making it a directly comparable mission-aligned peer.
• Eden Housing: California nonprofit affordable housing developer co-founded by Rick Holliday. Operates in the same Bay Area geographies and affordable-mixed-income product type as Holliday Development, with a comparable LIHTC-financed rental model.
• CFY Development: Sacramento-based affordable housing developer specializing in Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Direct peer that co-developed Warehouse Artist Lofts and Truckee Railyard Artist Lofts with Holliday Development, executing closely comparable LIHTC-financed affordable and artist housing projects in Northern California.
• Carmel Partners: Bay Area-based multifamily investor/developer pursuing market-rate and mixed-income urban infill and TOD. Comparable to Holliday Development on Bay Area urban mixed-use, transit-adjacent multifamily development and adaptive reuse product types.
• The NRP Group: National multifamily developer delivering market-rate and affordable apartments, including TOD and adaptive reuse. Comparable to Holliday Development on mixed-income urban infill, public-private partnerships, and LIHTC-financed affordable rental product.

Broad incumbents

• Pulte Homes: Large national for-sale homebuilder participating as co-developer on Central Station in West Oakland. Overlaps with Holliday Development on for-sale residential and master-planned communities but at meaningfully greater scale and broader geography.

Others

• Factory OS: Vallejo-based modular housing manufacturer concurrently owned by Rick Holliday. Sister company that supplies the modular units underpinning Holliday Development's cost and schedule advantages (Google deal, 5880 Third Street); adjacent/enabling rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holliday Development