Housing Trust has further expanded its impact in Santa Cruz County by making its very first loan to Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay to help build 11 homes on Harper Street in Santa Cruz.
While much of Housing Trust’s recent lending has been for predevelopment or land acquisition, this $1 million loan represents an exciting opportunity to support construction. Eleven new homes are planned with five duplexes and a single-family home that will be one story and designed to accommodate someone with long-term or permanent physical or mental challenges. The development is in the Live Oak neighborhood of unincorporated Santa Cruz County, near an elementary school, a community park, and shops. In a county with a median sales price of over $848,000 (Zillow, June 2020), all 11 homes will be affordable for those earning between 50% and 80% of the area median income.
“Building affordable housing is an incredibly challenging endeavor, but Housing Trust Silicon Valley was a key partner who helped us get this across the finish line,” said Satish Rishi, CEO, Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay. “We’re grateful for their help creating more safe, decent, affordable homes in our community.”
“It’s a real pleasure to partner with Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay to help expand Housing Trust’s lending footprint in Santa Cruz County,” said Julie Mahowald, Interim CEO of Housing Trust Silicon Valley. “We’re longtime admirers of their work and are excited to see these new homes take shape.”
Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay estimated its volunteers will provide approximately 80% of the labor required to build the homes. The groundbreaking at the site is scheduled for July 2020 and Habitat anticipates welcoming the first homebuyers during March 2021.
This loan builds off of Housing Trust’s work with Monterey Bay Housing Partnership and the development also received support from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and Santa Cruz County.
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.
About Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay
Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay is an independent locally operated and funded affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Our mission is to build decent, affordable homes and provide home ownership opportunities to qualified families who live and work in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. For more information, please visit www.habitatmontereybay.org.
Contact:
Julie Quinn, Housing Trust Silicon Valley
Ph. 408.703.3837 x 223