[caption id="attachment_74216" align="alignright" width="360"] Eden Housing celebrated the opening of Novato's 60-unit Warner Creek Senior Apartments in May (photo courtesy Eden Housing)[/caption]
NOVATO -- Eden Housing celebrated the opening of its second affordable housing development in Marin County last month, completing 60 homes for low-income seniors in a county whose aging population and shortage of rental stock has created an intensifying demand for those initiatives.
Completed in December of last year at a cost of $24.5 million, the Warner Creek Senior Apartments, located on a 2.4-acre parcel at 806 Diablo Ave. in Novato, also features an on-site managers unit, courtyard, community activity spaces, a computer learning center and garden areas. There are 22 units specifically targeted to those with long-term chronic health conditions or physical disabilities, with Homeward Bound of Marin enlisted to provide services to residents.
"Virtually everyone who moved in to Warner Creek is from Marin," said Linda Mandolini, president of Hayward-based Eden Housing. "Several of them have lost their homes to foreclosure. They've lived in Marin all their lives, and then they lose their homes."
Preliminary talks concerning the project began as early as nine years ago, Ms. Mandolini said. Funding sources included Bank of America's $8 million investment in federal low income housing tax credits awarded to the project, nearly $9 million in state funds, approximately $4 million in county and city contributions including Novato's former redevelopment agency and a $1 million grant from the Marin Community Foundation.
The project involves a number of measures for energy and water conservation, exceeding green building standards, Ms. Mandolini said. VMWP Architecture, based in San Francisco, designed the project, with Pleasanton-based Segue Construction as general contractor.
Homes are available to seniors earning between 20 and 50 percent of median income in Marin County, equivalent to income between $15,500 and $38,800 for a one-person household.
Eden Housing's first Marin County Project, the 50-unit Fireside Apartments, was opened in 2009. Preliminary talks are also underway for other opportunities to develop affordable housing in Marin County, Ms. Mandolini said.
Eden Housing has developed more than 7,200 affordable housing units since it launched in 1968, providing supportive services to the more than 5,200 apartments in its property management portfolio.
