Marin County approves $5.2M loan for 80-unit affordable housing project
The Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $5.2 million loan for the largest affordable homeownership project in the county.
Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco is leading the development project in Northern Novato.
"One of the things you hear so often in affordable housing is, there's no land, there's no land, there's no land. And here, because of the generosity of PG&E, we have this beautiful piece of land. I mean who wouldn't want to grow up here," Maureen Sedonaen, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, told CBS News Bay Area.
It's an empty plot of land for now, but the project will be built along the 8161 Redwood Blvd., wedged between a Days Inn Motel and the former Birkenstock shoe building off Highway 101.
"Several different buildings, townhomes, condos and there will be seven single-family homes. They will be spread out mostly in this area, and there will be a lot of common areas, trails, places for kids to play. And then we're going to build a trail up the hill and connect to the park," she said.
It's a roughly $85 million project to build 80 affordable housing units, ranging from two to four-bedroom homes with a focus on multi-generational families.
"These folks will be in the 50% to 80% income for about 60 of the homes. And the other homes will be for the 80 to 120%, that's called workforce housing," she said.
While Sedonaen said they are working to fill a $20 million budget gap, the County of Marin recently granted them a loan to assist with the building development.
"This is a significant investment for the county. Making sure that the housing is in an area of opportunity, has access to transit and services and marketing and reaching people who have been historically shut out of home ownership," Leelee Thomas, the deputy director of housing and federal grants for Marin County, told CBS News Bay Area.
Through the Community Development Agency, Thomas helps manage the housing trust fund, which is now providing the loan for the project.
She added that with skyrocketing home prices, this project gives many families a chance.
"In Marin, our median home sales for a home is over $1.5 million. Homeownership is frequently really out of reach for households at these income levels," Thomas said.
Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco officials said the prices for the low-income housing will range between $467,063 and $689,554.
And that falls in line with Sedonaen's vision, of helping families reach the American Dream of owning a home.
"We don't give away homes, these people are homeowners. Having the opportunity to buy a home and know that you're paying your mortgage every month, you're building up your credit, you're saving, you're thinking about the future. It's such an incredible opportunity and everyone should have it," she said.
"I've heard this so much from the kids of the Habitat homeowners, that they notice the difference between when their parents were in lower income rental or subsidized rental, and when they become homeowners," she added.
Once the project is complete, families will apply through a lottery system. They would need to adhere to the Fair Housing Law guidelines and have a good credit score. Sedonaen also said that families will have low or no interest rate on their mortgages once approved.
"Teachers, nurses, people who work in the grocery store. All kinds of people who serve our community and live here and want to plant roots, and the uniqueness of being able to be first time homebuyers and build wealth and become taxpayers," she said.
While there is no completion date just yet, Sedonaen said they are in the final construction approval and building inspection process.
"They stay deed-restricted forever. So, when your family comes here and you raise your kids and they go off to college, you sell your home back and Habitat has first right of repurchase. We go in and we fix that home up, and then another family gets to start their journey," she said.
"We should have 10x these opportunities. And that's what I'm striving for," she added.
