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Winter – Spring 2008
At RCD, Irwin was a great inspiration to our Board and staff. Irwin envisioned a future when the majority of America’s housing will be affordable and community controlled. Irwin was passionate about resident-owned housing. He pushed RCD to build developments of large scale and national importance. Irwin had great wisdom, humor, and insights. He loved to share his perspectives and experiences, and indeed, was a great story teller and citizen of the world. He ended his talks with people by simply wishing them “peace.” RCD is establishing a scholarship fund in his name for our residents to help pay for college.
Housing Development News We are pleased to announce a new development at 720 E. 11th Street in the Lower San Antonio District of Oakland. This is a neighborhood in transition where community investment in housing and services are leading to neighborhood revitalization. The City of Oakland made the first, crucial funding commitment to the project, approving $6.25 million in funds that will allow RCD to begin the process of securing other funding. RCD is proposing to develop 55 units for low income singles, couples and families - 9 work/live units and 46 standard apartments. The diverse unit mix consists of 22 one-bedrooms, 13 two-bedrooms, 17 three-bedrooms, and 3 four-bedrooms. Targeted incomes will range from 30% to 60% of Area Median Income (up to $50,000 for a family of four,) with eight units set aside for households with individuals with special needs. The development will also create opportunities for artists and small businesses through the development of work-live space. Work/live units along East 11th will enliven the street frontage and support a mix of arts activities and micro businesses, creating positive synergy with similar undertakings in the neighborhood. The response from the community to our project proposal has been very favorable. RCD has presented to three standing committees of the San Antonio Neighborhood Network, to the Project Area Committee of the Central City East Redevelopment Area, and convened neighborhood meetings. We look forward to partnering with the community to create this addition to the available housing supply. Construction of the housing portion of Oxford Plaza and the David Brower Center is moving forward rapidly, following completion of the podium over the ground floor retail at the end of February. Interest in the retail spaces is growing as the ground floor takes shape. A temporary landmark, the big yellow crane on the Oxford construction site can be seen as far away as San Francisco, right next to the Campanile.
RCD was awarded a commitment of $3.164 million in January from the State of California for the rehabilitation of Erna P. Harris Court in Berkeley. Erna P. Harris Court provides 35 units for formerly homeless and disabled people, all of whom will be able to relocate within the complex during the phased renovation. The funding commitment and rehab will allow for major property upgrades, including accessibility improvements, window replacements, bathroom remodeling, and the construction of a drainage system. Construction is anticipated to run from October 2008 through May 2009. RCD’s ability to secure complete funding from the State will ensure the affordability of Erna P. Harris Court for the next 55 years.
Resident Services News The first residents opened the doors of their new apartments at Villa Vasconcellos over President’s Day weekend and began moving in their belongings. These pioneers will see plenty of changes over the next months as their neighbors move in and the remaining furnishings and artwork for the common areas arrive. Meantime, the courtyards’ tables and chairs beckon. Villa Vasconcellos provides a high level of social service support to enable seniors to live in the community and avoid institutionalized care. Thirty five percent of the units are for seniors with special needs. All are affordable to low income people, with monthly rents ranging up to $734. Simon Tse will be on-site full-time as service coordinator, assisting residents with relocation and finding services in the area, planning community activities, arranging for a nurse practitioner to provide individual health monitoring, scheduling exercise and nutrition classes or group discussions, preparing for arts and crafts activities, and facilitating referral to other service providers residents may need.
We would also like to recognize and thank the local artists who contributed artwork for the community spaces at Villa Vasconcellos: Sherry Smith Bell; Paula Boas; Carla Gelbaum; Stephen Joseph; Debby Koonce; Judy Miller; Johnie Poindexter; Pat Prosek; and Linda Yoshizawa.
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In February, all of us at RCD were saddened by the passing of Irwin Mussen. Irwin was our longest serving Board member, joining in 1984 shortly after the founding of RCD. Irwin had a long career as a planner, working for many years for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. He was a dedicated advocate for affordable housing and the environment. In recent years, Irwin worked on environmental projects in Armenia and in Israel/Palestine, where he promoted a regional development plan for the Dead Sea Basin for all of the people in the region to share in its natural resources.
At Fox Courts in Oakland’s Uptown District, construction is proceeding with the completion of the first half of the podium deck. Fox Courts is part of the excitement and the big changes to Uptown Oakland as Forest City’s adjacent market rate rental development nears completion and new restaurants and shops open in the area.
Villa Vasconcellos, the largest new construction housing development in RCD’s portfolio, is now open to residents. Congratulations to the design team led by Van Meter, Williams & Pollack and the construction team led by Segue Construction for a job well done. They have created 70 beautiful apartment homes with amenities that will make living there truly comfortable – two courtyards, one with raised beds for gardening, the other with patio tables and chairs; a large community room and full kitchen; on-site laundry facilities; extra storage; and more. Thanks also to the funding agencies that supported the project: the City of Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California Department of Housing & Community Development, California Housing Finance Agency, Union Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and California Bank & Trust. 
The grand opening will offer a chance to meet members of Junior Girl Scout Troop 2976 of Pleasant Hill, sixth graders who are volunteering for community service at Villa Vasconcellos. Their first project is to plant seasonal vegetables in the raised beds. Experienced in working with seniors, the girls are also looking forward to planning a tea party, providing help at the holidays with gift wrapping, addressing cards, caroling, or other projects the residents would like them to tackle. We appreciate their dedication to community building through service.