In the Works
The following
projects are currently in pre-development or under construction:
Opportunity Center,
Palo Alto, CA
Anticipated Completion: December 2005
Fairgrounds Project,
San Jose, CA
Anticipated Completion: July 2006
Opportunity Center,
Palo Alto, CA
Anticipated Completion:
December 2005
The Opportunity
Center will be a unique, mixed use facility that combines 89 units of
extremely low income housing with an on-site multiple service center for the
homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. This new construction
project has won praise from the City of Palo Alto's demanding Architectural
Review Board for its innovative design which provides a warm, welcoming and
safe environment for diverse populations - residents (both singles and
families) and drop-in day center clients.
The building
consists of five stories with two levels of underground parking (a total of
43 parking spaces). The 89 units of housing will be built on the four
upper floors over the ground floor service center. The housing
consists of 70 efficiency units for singles, 12 one bedroom and 6
two-bedroom units for families, and a one-bedroom manager unit.
The single
tenants will have minimal contact with the families, as the building is
designed with separate elevators, hallways and common areas for the
different types of tenants. All units will be furnished, including
carpeting and mini-blinds. The family units will include a bathroom,
small living room and full kitchen while the efficiency units will include a
bathroom and kitchenette. The efficiency tenants will also have access
to a community kitchen with a common dining area for more complete meal
preparation and opportunities to socialize.
A multiple
service center located on the ground floor of the building will have an open
reception area (separated from the residential lobby), a small kitchen and
eating space, a classroom/computer lab, staff offices, consultation rooms,
showers for men and women, laundry, a clothes closet, and an outdoor patio
area. This service center will be funded and operated separately from
the upper floor residential units, although tenants of the upper floors will
have access to these services as well.
Vehicular
entrance to the site is on Encina Way, one half block west of El Camino
Real, which is a major public transit and vehicular corridor. The
nearest bus stop is one block south at the Town and Country Shopping Center.
The site is also convenient to alternative modes of travel, including
Caltrain, bicycling and walking. An existing public bicycle/pedestrian
path which runs within a half block of the site is soon to be connected via
a railroad undercrossing to the heart of downtown Palo Alto.
Fairgrounds Project,
San Jose, CA
Anticipated Completion: July 2006
Two achievements
- the April 6, 2004, approval by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
of a long term Option to lease a portion of County-owned land, and the
approval on April, 13, 2004, of a $8,378,000 construction loan by the City
of San Jose - are permitting the Housing Authority to continue design and
pre-development work on its Fairgrounds Family project in San Jose.
Located on an
approximately 11.4 acre site, on land that was formerly occupied by the
County Fairgrounds, this 300-unit affordable family project is being
developed as a joint venture with ROEM Development Corporation, and is
proposed to be part of the larger 561 unit Fairgrounds project which, if
fully realized, will also include a 201-unit affordable senior project and
60 for-sale, first-time buyer townhouses.
The Housing
Authority portion of this project includes 130 units of one-, two- and
three-bedroom walkup flats, which are to be built in four three-story
buildings over a shared parking podium which will contain parking for the
130 Housing Authority units, as well as parking for the 170 affordable units
to be built by ROEM Development Corporation.
All residents of
this project will enjoy access to generously proportioned landscaped open
space on top of the parking podium, which will include a swimming pool,
children’s play areas, BBQ facilities and open space for walking and
sitting. Additional shared common space, including a fitness facility and
meeting rooms, will be contained within the main entry to the project in one
of the two four-story, elevator serviced, ROEM buildings. Monthly rents and
approximate unit sizes for all 300 units are listed below:
One BR
units: 660 sq ft Rent: $851
Two BR
units: 875 sq ft Rent: $1,011-1,085
Three BR
units: 1,025 sq ft Rent: $1,325
All units will
contain fully-equipped kitchens including refrigerators, dishwashers,
garbage disposals and gas stoves/ranges; washer/dryer hook-ups will be
provided in each unit. Each unit will contain approximately 60 square feet
of private open space in the form of a patio or balcony.
Construction for
this project is anticipated to begin in October 2004 and continue for 21
months, with a projected occupancy date of July 2006.
