Bay Area Incrementally Adds Much-Needed Affordable Housing

PALO ALTO, CA—A virtual groundbreaking celebration recently marked the kick-off of Wilton Court, a 100% affordable residential rental community at 3705 El Camino Real. The new 59-unit development is slated for completion in summer 2022, according to nonprofit affordable housing developer Alta Housing, formerly Palo Alto Housing.

“On our 50th anniversary, we are so thrilled to be building this new affordable housing project in the city of Palo Alto, our organization’s hometown,” said Randy Tsuda, Alta Housing’s president and CEO. “Providing high-quality supportive housing near transit and amenities allows people to thrive, including those with special needs.”

The residential development will provide independent living for a mix of single- and two-person households earning between 30% to 60% of the area median income. Wilton Court is also the first development to use the city’s newly created affordable housing combining district. Moreover, 21 of the units are reserved for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

“Palo Alto is home to several hundred families of adults with developmental disabilities, so we were so excited when we had the opportunity to collaborate with Alta Housing and the city of Palo Alto to support Wilton Court,” said Jan Stokley, executive director of Housing Choices. “This gives these adults the opportunity to continue living in the community where they grew up and have social networks and connections, and it supports their ability to live here among their friends, relatives and neighbors.”

The four-story development is located at the corner of El Camino Real and Wilton Avenue in Palo Alto’s Ventura neighborhood, within walking distance of a grocery store, retail and restaurants, parks and public bus transportation. Wilton Court is also situated near a range of community services, employment centers and education.

Financing for the $46.3 million development is provided by the city of Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, Wells Fargo Bank NA, Enterprise Community Partners, California Community Reinvestment Corporation, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, California Department of Housing and Community Development, and California Municipal Finance Authority. The project’s designer is PYATOK and the general contractor is L&D Construction Co. Inc.

“I want to acknowledge the Palo Alto building and planning staff’s hard work to expedite the review of our building permit application, particularly in the context of the pandemic and the city’s rapid shift to working remotely. The city team worked diligently to help us meet our schedule,” Tsuda tells GlobeSt.com.

Alta has an active affordable housing pipeline, Tsuda says. It just finished Fair Oaks Commons, a 67-unit project in San Mateo County last month. In addition to Wilton Court, Alta has a 71-unit project called Luna Vista under construction in Mountain View. The firm is also pursuing entitlements for two more projects in Mountain View, one on Terra Bella Avenue and the other on a city-owned downtown parking lot.

It is important to note that affordable and public housing assets vary greatly. Affordable housing assets serve a relatively higher income group, often rely on private sector funds, leverage a different set of government subsidies and have higher debt service. Many affordable properties are low-income housing tax credit assets with a complex web of regulatory requirements. Public housing assets owned and operated by housing authorities tend to be older and have higher operating costs. Since the creation of the LIHTC program and with rental assistance demonstration driving most of the new recapitalizations, many public housing portfolios are being converted to affordable housing, according to MRI Software.