June 2007
In this issue: |
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State Policy Update |
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Housing Silicon Valley |
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News Notes |
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| Bay Area LISC finances first project through Green Connection Loan Fund: Resources for Community Development's Orange Tree Village housing for seniors will feature passive solar cooling, solar panels, and many other green amenities. Thanks to Catholic Healthcare West for its investment in the Fund. |
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| We are pleased to welcome Ximena Delgado, Senior Vice President for Global Community Impact at Bank of America, to our to our Local Advisory Committee. |
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Letter from the Director
As summer arrives, we find ourselves looking ahead: toward the future of California, with the reforms needed to protect our existing affordable housing for years to come; toward the future of Silicon Valley, with a high-profile effort to end homelessness and solve the housing crisis; and toward the future of building, with a green, transit-oriented development in Walnut Creek.
Stephanie Forbes, Director
State Policy Update
Improving the Odds for Affordable Housing Managers
Throughout the Bay Area and across the state, managers of affordable housing properties face countless hurdles, but there are signs that changes may be afoot. Since the December release of a Bay Area LISC property management study, momentum has been building to push for reform in Sacramento. LISC has asked a panel of top asset managers at the State, local housing agencies and community development organizations to take a fresh look at ways to improve the long-term sustainability of the affordable housing stock throughout California.
Our December study, Against All Odds: The Business of Managing Affordable Housing, surveyed seventeen private and nonprofit affordable housing management companies managing 66,000 units of affordable housing, and discovered that many affordable housing properties—particularly smaller properties—are in constant danger of falling into the red. The main culprits? Overoptimistic underwriting assumptions, inflexible rent caps, and California's complicated system of federal, state, and local operating regulations and reporting requirements. Bay Area LISC is now working with public, private and nonprofit partners to help ease the burden on affordable housing properties. High on the list of possible reforms: establishing more realistic budgeting for smaller properties, building in predictable rent increases to keep pace with inflation, and developing better collaboration between State agencies on inspections, compliance, and reporting.
The findings of the study proved what many in the industry have long suspected. According to Jack Gardner, President of The John Stewart Company, which manages more than 20,000 units of housing, "Overly optimistic underwriting has damaged the operations of smaller properties, negatively impacting residents' quality of life. The study has already helped us educate both developers and lenders regarding appropriate underwriting for smaller supportive housing developments."
If you are interested in getting involved in these policy efforts, contact Cathy Craig at ccraig@lisc.org.
Housing Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley Leaders Team Up in an Unprecedented Effort to End Homelessness and Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis
More than two dozen Silicon Valley leaders from across the public,
private and nonprofit sectors have come together to form a "Blue Ribbon
Commission" in an unprecedented effort to lay out a plan for how the region
can work toward ending homelessness and solving the affordable housing
crisis over the next 10 to 20 years. "The Blue Ribbon Commission," says
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Chair Don Gage, "will take the best
ideas from the best minds in the Valley and effectively address the challenges
outlined in the LISC study Housing Silicon Valley." Housing Silicon Valley—the most comprehensive study of the region's affordable housing crisis to date—served as the catalyst for the Blue Ribbon Commission. "The Bay Area LISC study shows us in direct, human terms just what our housing crisis really means," says Gage.
Supervisor Gage and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed are co-chairing the Blue Ribbon Commission, which is working to develop a plan of action by the Fall to end chronic homelessness and provide adequate affordable housing for all those in need. This is no small task. There are nearly 8,000 unhoused people on any given night in Santa Clara County and, as Housing Silicon Valley revealed, more than 41,000 households—or approximately 72,000 people—struggle to make rent payments of more than 50% of their income. Over the next twenty years, moreover, the region will need an additional 90,000 units of housing—at an annual cost of $200 million—to meet projected population growth.
The Blue Ribbon Commission has developed four working groups to tackle specific aspects of the campaign. Bay Area LISC is taking a lead role in the "Increasing the Housing Supply" working group, which is developing land use and financing proposals for how to ensure that Silicon Valley can meet its future affordable housing needs.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the study or supporting the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission, contact Greg Chin at gchin@lisc.org.
Green Development Spotlight: Acalanes Court
Multi-family Housing Development Is a Green, Transit-Oriented Gem
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| ©Mikiten Architecture |
Satellite Housing's Acalanes Court opened its doors in October, becoming the first affordable family housing built in Walnut Creek in the last ten years. The 17-unit housing complex boasts an enviable transit-oriented location and dozens of green features, both of which have been a boon to residents. "As a single mom," says Laurette Willkom, Acalanes' property manager, "you can't just spend half of your income on rent. What makes this place special is the combination of the affordability and the accessibility of the building to the community."
Acalanes Court is situated in downtown Walnut Creek within a half mile of BART, regional bus lines, a free city shuttle, shopping, schools, medical facilities, and two city parks. The family-friendly location provides easy accessibility for kids and adults alike, and helps reduce the building's environmental impact by cutting back on the number of car trips residents take to get around. In addition, the building has a number of built-in green design features and materials ranging from the preservation of on-site redwoods to an impressive array of solar panels. Bay Area LISC provided a $100,000 recoverable grant to help finance the purchase of the solar panels, which will save energy and money throughout the life of the building.