Nibbi Brothers General Contractors have worked in San Francisco for the past 75 years, and though you might not be familiar with the name, you might be familiar with their work.
The company has worked on projects with City Center Mall, The Cliff House, and in 2012, they completed building the new Exploritorium. Now, they’re moving on with new projects, specifically affordable housing.
“We certainly take pride in the fact that we build a lot of homes and apartments for people that are in need in the affordable housing space,” Vice President of Nibbi, Joe Olla said.
“In San Francisco [and] the whole Bay Area, there’s a tremendous need for housing, so we’re proud to be part of the solution,” Olla added.
The company is led by Sergio Nibbi ’54 and Larry Nibbi ’63.
According to Bay Area Equity Atlas, San Francisco is in need of around 11,000 units of affordable housing for those of low and very low income.
“I believe most folks in just kind of average everyday life believe that you go out, you get the bids on a project, you take the lowest contractor, and build it off a set of plans,” said Olla.
Olla is describing a process called “tendering,” where contractors bid to work on a project before building begins. Clients then choose the contractors based on pricing, skill and supplies.
“That’s really quite contrary to what we do every day. We have a team of over 20 people in what’s called our ‘preconstruction and estimating department’ that work hand-in-glove with our clients, architects, engineers and project partners,” he explained.
Currently, The Nibbi Brothers are working in the Balboa Reservoir next to Archbishop Riordan High School, building apartments that will be able to have around 1,100 units. For the project they are working alongside Bridge Housing, to build this affordable housing.
The project has been in the works since the idea came up in 2014, and was approved by the previous Mayor London Breed in 2020. This past October, construction finally began.
The estimated length of the building process will be around two years, with the Nibbi Brothers being selected as the contractors.
