How an acquisition loan helped Mainline North deliver affordable homes and peace of mind for residents
When Pete moved into his apartment at Mainline North in Santa Clara, he didn’t just receive a set of keys. He regained housing stability and peace of mind. In a region where housing insecurity is just one job loss away, getting back on one’s feet can be a difficult journey. Pete knows this firsthand. A former high school teacher, he always loved computers and decided to change careers to pursue that passion. He honed his skills in programming and project management, and over time built a career in tech. For many years, he earned a solid income and lived independently. Then his work contract ended, and everything changed.
“I went from having my own place, to living somewhere unsafe,” Pete says. “It felt like my life was shrinking.” In Santa Clara County, about 41% of renter households spend 30-50% of their income on housing costs, and 20% spend more than 50%, meaning nearly 61% of renters are cost-burdened or severely cost-burdened.¹ Housing cost burden is most acute for extremely low- and very low-income renters – nearly 80% of households at or below 50% of AMI are cost-burdened – yet affordability pressures persist up the income scale, with more than 50% of low-income renters (those up to 80% of AMI) also face housing cost burdens.2
Pete’s story reflects a difficult truth for workers in high-cost regions like Silicon Valley: housing security can be fragile, even for skilled professionals. When Pete lost his job, it took months to find new work, and the position he eventually secured paid far less. Rent quickly became unsustainable. Pete cycled through short-term subleases, unsafe housing conditions, and eventually relied on friends for a place to stay, until he moved into Mainline North, a 151-unit multifamily affordable housing community in Santa Clara’s Tasman East Community.
Co-developed by USA Properties and the Pinyon Group, the community has apartments that serve a range of income levels, from those up to 30% of AMI to those up to 70% of AMI, which in Santa Clara County translates to incomes between $42,210-$98,490 for a 1-person household. The new community is part of the City of Santa Clara’s Tasman East area, a redevelopment area blocks away from Levi’s Stadium and transforms this part of the city from light industrial buildings to a high-density neighborhood of mixed-use residential properties featuring open spaces and greenways.
Six years ago, in 2020 as redevelopment of the area was just getting underway, Housing Trust provided an $8.6 million acquisition loan to USA Properties through our Google Launch Initiative − our partnership that has helped create or preserve more than 4,800 homes across the greater Bay Area. The loan enabled the developer to purchase the property and hold the site while completing pre-development and lining up long-term financing − a period when the project required a patient lender willing to provide early capital and remain in the deal until long-term financing was secured. Once USA Properties secured their funding, including California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) financing and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), they closed on construction financing and repaid our acquisition loan two years later, in 2022.
Today, Pete pays rent he can afford based on his income, which is less than a comparable market-rate apartment. He lives in a professionally managed building with shared amenities, including outdoor open spaces, a gym, community rooms, a classroom/computer room, and a stacker parking system for those with cars. There are always gatherings that create connections and community for the residents.
“My life did a complete 360 now that I live here,” says Pete. “I’m calmer. I can think clearly again. I know my life can only get better.”
Learn more about how you can support Housing Trust’s work and connect with us at https://housingtrustsv.org/invest/.
Sources
- Silicon Valley at Home. Santa Clara County Housing Data – Cost-Burdened Renters (ACS 5-Year Estimates). https://siliconvalleyathome.org/resources/santa-clara-county/
- California Housing Partnership. Housing Need by Income – Santa Clara County (HUD CHAS data).
https://chpc.net/resources/housing-needs-by-income/