During Affordable Housing Week we celebrated the grand opening of Edwina Benner Plaza with MidPen Housing and their partners. The development got its name after California’s first female mayor, Edwina Benner, who served as mayor of Sunnyvale from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1937 to 1938. Her niece, Beverly David, was among the speakers the day of the grand opening.
We first got involved with Edwina Benner Plaza back in 2015 – the loan to MidPen was actually the very first acquisition financing loan we made – thanks to our Affordable Housing Growth Fund loan pool and a great partner in Tech CU.
The work we did at Edwina Benner ultimately set the stage for our core multifamily lending work. The day of the grand opening we were delighted to see residents had already moved in and we saw a lot of happy everydayness of the lived-in homes – like family photos on a refrigerator and drawings some of the kids made hanging up in the after school program – which is at capacity with 20 kids.
There’s also a computer lab – and those of you who attended #InvestorBriefing19 and heard Sumayia’s story about growing up in affordable housing know a peaceful place to learn can mean everything. The building is also being recognized for its ‘green’ features; even being among Affordable Housing Finance magazine’s 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards finalists.