Nearly a year after its initial unveiling, Nabr, the housing startup co-founded by Bjarke Ingels, has announced the beginning of presales for the first site in its BIG-designed development in downtown San Jose.

Featuring updated designs for its three-tower block, the firm is promoting the Silicon Valley initiative as a “people-first housing company.” Prospective residents will have the opportunity to purchase a home through either a traditional mortgage servicer or via the Leap lease-to-own alternative.

Ingels has said repeatedly since Nabr's initial announcement that the venture is an attempt to mitigate the barriers to homeownership in America, an issue which has disproportionately affected young people and student loan borrowers, while pushing the broader architectural community to explore new approaches to the concept of housing overall.

Prices for a place in SoFA One, the first tower in Nabr's San Jose ensemble to come online, start around $700,000. The firm said via social media posts that “first dibs” go to attendees of their recent in-person event, and invitations to apply will otherwise be sent out to those who signed up for their email waitlist back in December. “Today marks a major milestone, but is just the beginning,” the post promises. “We'll be releasing homes in batches over the course of the coming months.”

Offerings inside the one-, two-, and three-bedroom units include mass-timber accented modular interiors with 40-foot-long terraces, 10-foot-high ceilings, in-unit MERV 13 air filtration systems, and kitchens that feature all-stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, and oakwood floors. The reservation, home selection, and design customization process is all run through the company's proprietary Design Studio software.

Speaking from his own Copenhagen home, a converted former car ferry, Ingels describes the five principles — continuity of outside to inside spaces, preserving colors and textures of natural materials, enabling flexible interiors, etc — inherent in Nabr's design in the promotional video seen below. 

Video via Nabr on YouTube