South County Housing receives additional $1.2 million
An affordable senior housing project stalled for six years by
Hollister’s building moratorium is about to get back online, at an
additional $1.2 million cost to the city’s Redevelopment
Agency.
South County Housing, the nonprofit community development
corporation based in Gilroy, recently requested and received the
additional loan funding from the RDA to offset property holding
costs and higher construction estimates for the Vista Meadows
project planned on Park Street near Rancho San Justo School. Higher
impact fees and sewer hook-up rates put into effect since the start
of the moratorium also contributed to the increased cost.
South County Housing receives additional $1.2 million
An affordable senior housing project stalled for six years by Hollister’s building moratorium is about to get back online, at an additional $1.2 million cost to the city’s Redevelopment Agency.
South County Housing, the nonprofit community development corporation based in Gilroy, recently requested and received the additional loan funding from the RDA to offset property holding costs and higher construction estimates for the Vista Meadows project planned on Park Street near Rancho San Justo School. Higher impact fees and sewer hook-up rates put into effect since the start of the moratorium also contributed to the increased cost.
The city’s total commitment to the project, which will include 72 multi-family housing units for very low-income seniors, now approaches $4.2 million.
“The project could have been built several years ago if it hadn’t been for the moratorium,” said Bill Avera, Hollister’s development services director. “We helped with the initial acquisition of the property because we thought it would be a good location; next door to the Prospect Villa Apartments,” another low-income senior housing project.
Prior to the recent increase in funding, the RDA committed nearly $3 million to the project to help with predevelopment costs and land acquisition. Securing that funding allowed South County Housing to pursue additional grants and funding for the development, which is expected to cost between $10 million and $11 million, Avera said.
The Vista Meadows project is expected to come before the Hollister Planning Commission this month and, provided it is approved and the cease and desist order on sewer hook-ups is lifted in December as anticipated, the project could break ground “in the first part of next year,” Avera said.
“This is one of our better developments because of the price per unit and the income level that we’re serving here,” he added. “It’s an excellent deal because we’re serving the extremely low income folks.”
The RDA, Avera said, has an obligation to provide affordable housing to Hollister residents.
“It’s not worth it for the RDA to buy properties and develop housing projects by itself. It’s easier and more cost efficient to work with nonprofits like South County Housing,” he said, noting that the city has previously helped fund low-income and senior housing developments as well as self-help developments.
“We do a pretty good job of serving the various income levels that need assistance” finding a place to live, Avera said, mentioning that the RDA doesn’t expect to be repaid for the funding it provides. The city’s financial participation is meant to guarantee that the project will remain affordable to low-income seniors for a period of 55 years, at which time the loan will be forgiven. If, for some reason, South County Housing was to go out of business or the project was sold, the city’s investment would be reimbursed.
“But our primary focus is keeping the housing affordable,” Avera said.
South County Housing, which in Hollister has developed nine other single- or multi-family developments exceeding $51 million since 1992, has plans for two other projects in the city.
The Hillview project is a planned five-acre development on Central Avenue near Buena Vista Road west of Ranchito Drive. South County Housing has owned the parcel since 1996 and was allocated 25 building allocations by the city in 2000.
The development plan calls for the construction of 15 three-bedroom homes and 10 four-bedroom homes ranging from 1,400 to 1,600 square feet.
The project is designated as a “100 percent affordable, mixed income, for-sale housing project” with up to 15 of the homes designated for families that participate in South County’s self-help program. In the self-help program, families actually work with South County Housing staff to finish their homes and their labor is taken in lieu of a down payment. The remainder of the homes would be available to low- and moderate-income families at below-market rates, according to a memo from Jan Lindenthal of South County Housing. The developer has requested a predevelopment loan of $466,529 from the city, but that has not yet been approved, according to Avera.
Construction of the Hillview project is anticipated to begin in August 2009, according to Lindenthal.
The other South County Housing project in the planning stages is Hollister Gateway, which proposes 139 affordable rental units on a five-acre property at 1555 San Juan Road in the West Gateway neighborhood. The project, targeted at low-income seniors and families, is also in the predevelopment phase.
