Marina, CA — Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and Housing Trust Silicon Valley announced today a $2.052 million acquisition loan to Eden Housing for 1482 Freedom, a site in Watsonville for an affordable housing development consisting of 53 affordable homes. The affordability will be restricted to those earning 20% to 60% of the area median income which, in Santa Cruz, is $132,400 for a family of four.
This development continues Eden’s green building efforts; the project will be all-electric and served by solar panels. The homes will be a mix of one- to three-bedroom with rents ranging from $423 per month for a one-bedroom to $1,936 for a three-bedroom unit. The planned amenities will include a community center, computer room, offices, laundry, playground and recreational areas. The location is close to the Center for Employment Training and in short walking distance from a supermarket, several bus stops and restaurants.
“We applaud our partners at the City of Watsonville, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership for tackling the housing crisis with us by supporting this project,” said Linda Mandolini, president of Eden Housing. “We look forward to working with the community to create a welcoming home that instills pride in its residents.”
Funds for the loan were also provided by Dignity Health and TECH Fund, Housing Trust’s Silicon Valley’s investment vehicle that enables greater Bay Area entities to invest in affordable housing. TECH Fund investors include Cisco, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Google, The Grove Foundation, LinkedIn, NetApp, Pure Storage and the Sobrato Family Foundation.
“This new project brings the total number of homes we’ve helped finance in Santa Cruz County to a total of 188 among three developments, including this one,” said Kevin Zwick, CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley. “Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and Eden Housing have a great plan and strong leadership to help move this new project forward. We’re proud of the ongoing collaboration with MBEP and are excited to see what’s next.”
“The pandemic has shown us again how critical affordable housing is to our safety net infrastructure,” said Matt Huerta, MBEP Housing Program Manager. “It takes strong collaboration and investment from all sectors to make this infrastructure a reality. Our community will recover more quickly and build resiliency as we build on this investment.”
About Monterey Bay Housing Trust
Monterey Bay Housing Trust (MBHT) is designed to promote the development and preservation of affordable housing throughout Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. The MBHT provides early bridge financing for land acquisition, predevelopment, construction or preservation of affordable homes.
About MBEP
Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is a regional member-supported nonprofit organization consisting of public, private and civic entities located throughout the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz. Founded in 2015, our mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life in the region. www.mbep.biz.
About Housing Trust Silicon Valley
Housing Trust Silicon Valley is a nonprofit community loan fund based in San Jose that works to improve the quality of life of low-income people in the greater Bay Area by increasing affordable housing opportunities. Since 2000, Housing Trust has invested over $335 million in programs that help everyone from those experiencing homelessness to renters to first-time homebuyers – creating over 20,000 affordable housing opportunities serving over 36,700 of our neighbors. It is the first nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to receive a Standard & Poor’s rating, AA- because of its strong capacity to meet financial commitments. For more information visit www.housingtrustsv.org
