Michele Vives might just be the urban hero San Francisco’s largest residential complex has been waiting for. After Maximus Real Estate Partners defaulted on $1.8 billion in loans, leaving the 152-acre Parkmerced property in disrepair, Vives and her team at Douglas Wilson Companies have stepped in to transform the World War II-era housing development.

The challenges are immense. Water damage has ravaged the concrete towers, with exterior paint chipping and bubbling, leaving interiors vulnerable to dry rot. Occupancy rates had plummeted to less than 70%, reflecting years of neglect and mounting maintenance issues.

Vives isn’t intimidated. Her immediate priorities include bringing the complex up to modern standards and attracting tenants through strategic improvements. Her first major move? Replacing all water heaters and boilers across the complex’s 11 apartment towers.

“We knew it was going to be bad, but the level of deferred maintenance we inherited was shocking,” Vives candidly shared. She’s been flying from Southern California to San Francisco nearly every week, personally overseeing the turnaround and guiding architects, engineers, and contractors through the property.

The restoration plan is ambitious. DWC plans to invest over $70 million in renovations, targeting more than 400 units. They’re also hiring 70 on-site property managers to ensure faster issue resolution and buying bulk elevator parts to expedite repairs.

Interestingly, the complex offers generously sized apartments by San Francisco standards - one-bedroom units average 900 square feet, while two-bedroom townhomes span 1,100 square feet. The team even hopes to reopen the complex’s previously shuttered Montessori school.

City Supervisor Myrna Melgar has expressed relief at the receiver’s commitment, noting this as a “pivotal moment” for Parkmerced. With defaulted rent estimated at nearly $8 million and previous redevelopment plans stalled, Vives represents a beacon of hope for this struggling housing community.

As real estate markets continue to fluctuate, Vives remains pragmatic: “We understand that real estate works in cycles. When you can’t build new buildings, you find problems to solve”. For Parkmerced’s thousands of residents, that problem-solving can’t come soon enough.