Construction UpdateSept. 10, 2012
Burbank Housing busy with four projects
Petaluma senior housing complex gets 68 more units
Nominations sought for 2012 Top Projects
Burbank Housing Development Corp. has four affordable ownership and rental communities in various predevelopment and final construction stages in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Windsor.
All of these housing units are Energy Star-rated, featuring appliances reported to be 35 percent more efficient than those found in a typical home.
Favorable mortgage financing is provided from local, state and federal funding sources for first-time homebuyers.
Rental units will be targeted to individuals and families making 30 percent to 60 percent of the area median income. Ownership is available to families earning up to 80 percent of AMI.
“Despite the loss of CalHFA Mortgage funds and the effects of the economic downturn, our creative team continues to work its way through funding bumps in the road to put together financing packages that make these affordable communities possible,” said Larry Boughton, construction department manager of Burbank Housing.Manzanita self-help houses in Windsor
The 22-home Manzanita self-help homeownership project, located at 9950 Los Amigos Rd. in Windsor, started in April 2011 and will be completed this fall.
[caption id="attachment_61107" align="alignleft" width="405"] Burbank Housing's Manzanita development[/caption]
Costing $8.7 million to build, Manzanita received some funding from voter-approved Proposition 1C via the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Infill Infrastructure Grant program.
HCD BEGIN funds were made available to the town of Windsor, which in turn extended loans to the homebuyers. HCD also provided Technical Assistance Grant funds through their CSHHP program.
Windsor’s Redevelopment Agency provided additional financing, along with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development provided the mortgage lending. The Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program through Exchange Bank also provided loans to homebuyers.
The California Housing Finance Agency’s Residential Development Loan Program provided interim funds for predevelopment costs. Additional HUD construction funds were provided through the Housing Assistance Council Self-Help Opportunity Program.
The Manzanita development has a combination of two, three and four bedroom, two bath, single-family detached homes and duets with one-car garages.
“After low income applicants are qualified and selected, they must agree to contribute a minimum of 30 hours per week in building each other’s homes,” said Randy Fronce, on-site construction superintendent for Burbank Housing. “They work from Thursday through Monday under supervision from our self-help housing staff.”
No prior construction experience is needed. Supervisors teach future home- owners how to construct forms for concrete foundations, frame and sheet walls and install windows and doors. They also learn to put on siding, nail interior trim, hang cabinets and control erosion.
Burbank Housing is the general contractor for the Manzanita, Hollyhock and Catalina projects.Phase 3 of Hollyhock in Sebastopol
Located at 961 Gravenstein Hwy. S., Hollyhock is less than half way through its third construction phase. All three phases involve a total of 34 homes.
[caption id="attachment_61108" align="alignright" width="404"] Phase 3 of Burbank Housing's Hollyhock development[/caption]
Phase I, with 11 units, broke ground in 2010 and families moved in by November 2011. Construction on Phase II, with 14 units, began in April 2011 and was finished by May 2012. Work on Phase III’s nine remaining units started in June and they will be ready for occupancy in February 2013.
Hollyhock units are two-, three- and four-bedroom units with one and a half or two bathrooms and priced from $315,000 to $360,000. Floor plans range from 1,102 square feet for two bedrooms up to 1,629 square feet for a four-bedroom home.
Built for $13.9 million, Hollyhock was developed in cooperation with the city of Sebastopol and USDA Rural Development.
These homes offer reduced fixed-rate mortgages with minimal out of pocket closing costs (from $4,000 to $6,000 including expenses for tools). Payments are estimated to be from 30 percent to 37 percent of gross monthly income.Logan Place in Petaluma
[caption id="attachment_61110" align="alignright" width="405"] Rendering of Burbank Housing's Logan Place in Petaluma[/caption]
This 66-unit affordable multifamily rental housing community, under construction since May, is located at 1200 Petaluma Blvd. N.
