Marina Vista, consisting of 42 two-bedroom, townhouse-style apartments at 1003 Marina Drive, will get a total makeover before going on the market.

Units will be offered at between $345,000 and $395,000, with current renters offered discount prices of between $310,000 and $355,000, according to the permit approved by the city. The caps on sale prices are in effect for three years.

This is only the second condo conversion in city history. In September, the council approved the conversion of 38 apartments at Cadillac Flats on Soscol Avenue.

The window for condo conversions opened in 2005 when the rental vacancy rate topped 5 percent, a requirement for condo applications. Last year’s vacancy rate fell to just 2.6 percent.

The council approved condos at Marina Vista on a 3-2 vote after hearing neighborhood representatives praise conversion as a way to remove an “eyesore.”

A condominium association will do a better job maintaining the property than today’s out-of-town apartment owners have done, Theresa Heim said.

Condos would be a better fit for the neighborhood, providing more stability than renters who come and go, said Clay Parker, representing the South Napa Area Coalition.

The only dissenting citizen voice was that of Jenny Garcia, a single mom who lives at Marina Vista. “What happens to us if this does go through?” she said. “They kind of make it sound like we’re a problem or something, but we’re not.”

The council majority — Peter Mott, Juliana Inman and Jim Krider — said the conversion would offer needed ownership opportunities for Napa workers.

Voting no were Mayor Jill Techel and Mark van Gorder. Techel said the housing market today is far different than it was in 2005. The vacancy rate has dropped significantly, she said.

“For me this is not the right time,” said van Gorder, who said he was disturbed by turmoil in the housing market. “A lot of people are losing their homes. A lot of people are looking for rentals,” he said.

Attorney Kevin Teague, representing Marina Vista owners, said the poorest renters at Marina Vista would get $10,000 and assistance in helping them find a new apartment.

Others who moved in before the condo application was filed with the city will get six months free rent, he said.

It could be a year or more before reconstruction starts. The seven buildings will be done in sequence so there will not be a mass displacement of tenants, Teague said.

The apartments will be remodeled inside and out with essentially all new kitchens, bathrooms and carpeting. Units will get new windows, patio doors, heating, air conditioning, landscaping and patio slabs, as well as upgraded stucco and roofs.

Council members expressed skepticism that the market would support the proposed sales prices. A year ago there were few condominiums available under $350,000. Today there are more than a dozen, Mott said.

If the condo application were turned down, it’s likely that the owners would upgrade the waterfront development, then charge substantially higher rents, several council members said. That’s what he would do, Mott said.

Two elderly residents are guaranteed lifetime occupancy, while eight other units will be priced to ensure that average income people can afford them, Teague said.

This is more price protection than currently exists at Marina Vista, Inman said.