# House Hacking in Martinez (94553): A $500M waterfront plan in the county seat · The Rent Hacker

> Martinez 94553 for house hackers: Martinez Waterfront and Marina Redevelopment (about $500M across 67.3 acres; ENA approved Dec 2025), a delivered Amtrak upgr

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[East Bay guide](/house-hacking/east-bay/) · Tier A · Rank #22 of 87

# House hacking in Martinez (Downtown / Pacheco / Vine Hill).

Martinez Waterfront and Marina Redevelopment (about $500M across 67.3 acres; ENA approved Dec 2025), a delivered Amtrak upgrade, and county-seat employment: county government, CCRMC, the VA, and the rebuilt PBF refinery are all in-ZIP.

**Status check:** Re-verified 2026-07-15: the waterfront plan is still progressing procedurally (ENA approved Dec 2025, BCDC preliminary review Mar 2026), but a June 2026 county civil grand jury report told Martinez to develop another funding plan. That is a funding-adequacy flag rather than a delay; tier held at A.

## What's actually happening in 94553

-   ENA approved
    
    Martinez Waterfront and Marina Redevelopment: about $500M across 67.3 acres, three hotels plus an amphitheater and ferry; ENA approved Dec 2025. [BCDC staff report](https://www.bcdc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/354/2025/12/2026.03.09_MartinezMarinaStaffReport_ADA.pdf)
    
-   Delivered
    
    Amtrak upgrade ($8.5M) delivered 2024: 15 weekday Capitol Corridor round trips. Capitol Corridor
    
-   Under construction
    
    I-680/SR-4 interchange Phase 3: $58M TCEP plus ~$160M, under construction to 2028. [CCTA](https://ccta.net/news/ccta-awarded-58-million-to-relieve-i%E2%80%91680-sr%E2%80%914-bottleneck-in-contra-costa-county/)
    
-   Existing anchors
    
    County-seat anchors in-ZIP: county government, CCRMC, the VA, and the rebuilt PBF refinery. Contra Costa County
    

## The numbers

Median price

Metro mid-band (no city median printed this run)

Market rent

2bd $2,300 / 3bd $2,800 whole-home (underwriting band)

Property tax (Contra Costa County)

~1.32% effective (Martinez)

Per-bed rent band

$900–1,200/mo per bed

ADU rent band

$1,900–2,400/mo

Whole-home rent band

2bd $2,300 / 3bd $2,800 whole-home

Underwriting vacancy

5% underwriting vacancy

Appreciation scenarios

1.5 / 3.0 / 4.0 %/yr (conservative / base / upside)

County and healthcare tenants can live-work here. Appreciation basis: Waterfront optionality plus county-seat anchors; varied stock at mid capex. Rent bands are city-level medians; confirm the specific parcel before trusting any of them. [Run your own scenario in the calculator](/calculator/).

## Buildings we underwrote in 94553

3 buildings in 94553 carry a record. 0 beat renting and index funds; the rest did not. Every row links to its own page, with the numbers it was scored on.

Property

At our defaults

Status

[2344 Scenic Ave](/property/rh-ow1ly9/2344-scenic-ave/) 2 units · $577,000

−$148,102 S&P 500

Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults

[141-143 Gilbert Ct](/property/rh-t9br2s/141-143-gilbert-ct/) 2 units · $869,000

−$433,766 S&P 500

Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults

[2220 S Crest Ave](/property/rh-nyt3dw/2220-s-crest-ave/) 2 units · $849,900

−$482,740 S&P 500

Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults

The full [board](/board/) shows every region's current week; this table is every record we hold for 94553, newest basis first.

## The house-hack angle

Live-work house-hack for county, CCRMC, and VA staff; room rentals near downtown and the Amtrak stop with its 15 weekday round trips.

## What breaks it

-   A June 2026 county civil grand jury flagged waterfront funding adequacy
-   The waterfront deal is an ENA so far: designation ahead of capital
-   Refinery adjacency (PBF)

This page is the standing analysis. The weekly part, actual Martinez-area listings that pass the math, lands on the East Bay board every Wednesday.

[This week's East Bay board](/board/sf-east-bay/)

[This week's East Bay board](/board/sf-east-bay/) · [Read past East Bay issues](/issues/sf-east-bay/) · [Every pick, on the record](/track-record/) · [How a deal becomes a pick](/methodology/)

Data synthesized 2026-07-04, catalysts re-verified 2026-07-15. Mortgage-rate basis: 6.43% (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of 2026-07-02). Sources are the public planning documents and market listings named above, fetched on the synthesis date. Nothing here is investment advice; every deal needs a bindable insurance quote and parcel-level verification.