Project delayed by building moratorium gains momentum eight
years after postponement
Construction is well under way on a senior apartment complex on
East Park Street that will cater to low- and very-low income
residents 62 and older. The project is expected to be completed in
the spring of 2011, but it has been a long time coming. Government
and nonprofit officials gathered Sept. 13 at the site to celebrate
the progress completed so far.
Project delayed by building moratorium gains momentum eight years after postponement
Construction is well under way on a senior apartment complex on East Park Street that will cater to low- and very-low income residents 62 and older. The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011, but it has been a long time coming. Government and nonprofit officials gathered Sept. 13 at the site to celebrate the progress completed so far.
“We want to have seniors in as soon as possible,” said Dennis Lalor, the president and CEO of South County Housing, adding that construction crews are trying to get the roofs on before the first rain of the season to keep the project on schedule.
Pauline Valdivia, a Hollister city councilwoman and the director of the Jovenes de Antano senior center, said the need for senior housing became apparent in 1989 after the Loma Prieto earthquake. Then, the Mission Oaks Mobile Home Park was a senior complex and many of the mobile homes were damaged. There were few other places in town for low-income seniors to live.
“I can’t believe we are here after all these many years,” Valdivia said, of the project. “I work for Jovenes and I see the elderly when they can’t find a place to live, can’t afford to rent.”
South County Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, initially received a proval and financing for a senior apartment complex nearly a decade ago.
“We were to the point where we had all the financing,” Lalor said. “We were within a week of building when the building moratorium came about.”
The Hollister building moratorium started in 2002, after sewage leaked into the San Benito River, causing state officials to halt all construction within the city until a new wastewater treatment plant was built.
“We are really trying to make up for lost time,” Lalor said.
As city, county and planning officials gathered at the site, construction workers hammered away.
When completed, the two-acre Vista Meadow site will include 72 apartments that will rent for $450 to 650 a month. It will have a community center, gardens and a trellised barbecue area. The apartments will be available for seniors with incomes no greater than 30 to 50 percent of the area median income.
The two-story buildings will have elevator access for seniors and a common laundry area. The site will include solar photovoltaic and solar thermal panels on buildings and carport roofs.
“The use of solar energy greatly benefits our senior residents,” Lalor said. “Not only will it lower their energy bills, it also lowers our property operating expenses and these savings will be passed onto our residents in the form of lower rents.”
Valdivia said many seniors live with their families because they can’t afford to live on their own, and that is “a burden for both.”
“This will allow for a better way of life for the elderly and helps them gain independence,” Valdivia said. “People are living longer and we want them to stay in their homes before they have to move on to other ways of living.”
She added that the complex will be close to services and bus transportation. She said she would be coordinating with South County Housing to make sure the seniors receive such services as Meals on Wheels at the site when it is completed.
Due to the delay from the building moratorium, the project had to be redesigned since an earthquake fault was found on the land and financing had to be secured again for the $9 million project. South County Housing partnered with another affordable housing developer, Mid-Peninsula Housing, to get the project jump started when the moratorium ended.
“The current city council and staff has been instrumental in getting the job in the queue post-moratorium because the council prioritized it and the staff made it a priority,” Lalor said.
But starting the project hasn’t been without problems.
“It was incredibly challenging to get back to it,” Lalor said, of securing the funding.
The funding for the project comes from Hollister Redevelopment Agency, the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, Local Initiative Support Corporation and Neighbor Works America. US Bank is providing a construction loan. National Equity Fund and JP Morgan Chase are providing tax credit equity.
Andy Lief, a senior project manager for South County Housing, estimated that about half the money for the project is going toward wages. The project has created between 60 to 70 full-time jobs, he said.
Lief took a few moments during the celebration to thank the many groups involved in the project, from local housing and planning staff to the contractors.
“I really came in here at the 11th hour, but other folks have been at it for years,” he said, before dismissing the crowd to have a lunch provided by Knife and Fork Cafe. “I’m honored to be here at the tail end and see all the work.”
South County Community Builders and Kent Construction is doing the construction and TWM Architects and planners did the design. RJA are the engineers on the job and Dillon and Associates will plan the landscaping.
Representatives from state Assemblywoman Anna Caballero and U.S. Congressman Sam Farr’s office attended the celebration. They both provided proclamations to South County Housing and Mid-Peninsula Housing.
South county Housing, a nonprofit incorporated in 1979, develops affordable housing in San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. The target populations include low-income seniors, disabled adults, single parents, families and the homeless. Mid-Peninsula Housing has been working since 1970 to provide affordable housing throughout the Bay Area. It has developed and professionally managed more than 6,000 homes for low-income families, seniors and those with special needs.
