|
|
|
|
          |
|
BACK
Walnut Creek’s Largest Affordable Housing Project
Will Serve Area ’s
Low-Income Senior Citizens Event: Groundbreaking Ceremony for Villa Vasconcellos Apartments January 10, 2007 – Berkeley, Calif. – Resources for Community Development (RCD) will break ground on Walnut Creek’s largest-ever affordable housing project Friday, January 19. Villa Vasconcellos Apartments will serve low-income seniors in a beautifully designed and -landscaped affordable housing project that emphasizes on-site services and activities. Villa Vasconcellos Apartments will replace a vacant former retirement home with 70 new one-bedroom apartments surrounding two common courtyards. Residents will be able to utilize the two communal courtyards for gatherings, outdoor exercise and community functions. Villa Vasconcellos’ unique program for seniors focuses on healthy living and helping seniors to maintain their independence. This “aging-in-place” model supports independent living for seniors 55+ as they age comfortably at home. It supports healthy seniors as well as those with special needs, providing on-site activities such as yoga, arts and crafts, financial management, nutrition classes, and referrals to outside social services as needed. Villa Vasconcellos Apartments will be the largest affordable housing project ever developed in the City of Walnut Creek. The apartments will provide permanent affordable housing for seniors with incomes between 20% and 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Twenty-five of the 70 units – 35 percent -- will be reserved for seniors who are disabled and homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The remaining 45 units will be reserved for seniors with incomes at or below 50% AMI. The project site, near Geary Road and North Main Street, is ideally located for senior housing, with easy access to both the freeway and public transit. Numerous retail stores and the Pleasant Hill BART station are within walking distance of the project. RCD will provide property management and social services, overseeing a full-time, on-site services coordinator and an on-site property manager. They will facilitate community-building activities among tenants and provide general practical support such as accessing public transportation, shopping, and obtaining household goods. A property management office will also be on site. Financing was secured in October 2006 and construction will be completed in December 2007. Funding for this project was provided by the State of California’s Multifamily Housing Program, County of Contra Costa, City of Walnut Creek, the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, California Housing Finance Agency, Silicon Valley Bank, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. About Resources for Community Development:
|