Groundbreaking Event to Highlight Three Downtown Affordable Housing Projects
SANTA CRUZ, CA – May 16, 2022 – The City of Santa Cruz will celebrate the groundbreaking of its Pacific Station South project on May 19 at 11 a.m. The event will also highlight the groundbreaking of Pacific Union Partners’ Cedar Street Apartments and the in-progress Downtown Library Affordable Housing Project.
“Affordable housing is a huge need in our community and the City is proactively working to address this need by streamlining 100-percent affordable housing permit approvals to get this housing built faster. There are more than 600 affordable homes in the City’s development pipeline to date,” Mayor Sonja Brunner said.
Pacific Station South, located at 818, 820, 822 Pacific Ave. and 325, 329 Front Street, will provide 70 family rental apartments, including one manager’s unit and 22 units reserved for disabled individuals, to households with income levels ranging from 30-60 percent Area Median Income, or approximately between $33,570 and $67,140 for a four-person household. The project will be ready for leasing in early 2024.
The City is fortunate to have the support of Housing Trust Silicon Valley, which contributed to the Pacific Station South project.
“We are excited to have provided early stage financing for this project,” said Noni Ramos, CEO, Housing Trust Silicon Valley. “Pacific Station South will make more affordable housing accessible downtown and allows us to continue our mission of creating safe, stable, and affordable housing solutions for our vulnerable South Bay community members. Their lives are going to change and will be enriched by the proximity to restaurants, retail, and transportation. This community is going to be strengthened.”
Cedar Street Family Apartments, located at 524, 532, 538 Cedar St., will provide 65 family rental apartments, including one manager’s unit, to households with income levels ranging from 30-60 percent of Area Median Income. Twenty-five percent of the units will be supportive housing for people who are disabled or homeless. These apartments are expected to be ready for leasing in late 2023.
The Downtown Library & Affordable Housing Project includes a modern library with resources for all, a child care facility, 120-125 units of very low income housing, and a parking component of approximately 300 spaces that consolidates current surface parking lots to support these and other affordable housing developments in the Downtown.
“With the majority of these rental apartments planned for very low income households and below, the City’s goal is to provide affordable housing in the heart of the downtown with walkable access to all of the amenities and services the downtown offers and it keeps the City on track to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA),” Economic Development Director Bonnie Lipsomb said.
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