Three affordable housing projects moving forward in Redwood City

At its Feb. 11 meeting, the council specifically authorized the city manager to negotiate an affordable housing funding agreement to provide $6 million in future affordable housing funds — $3.5 million for 353 Main St. and $2.5 million for 612 Jefferson Ave. — and the contribution will likely be structured as a long-term loan, according to a staff report. The council will officially vote on funding resolutions when those funds are available, likely this summer, according to the report.

For affordable housing developments, loans typically mirror the length of the project’s affordability, which is generally 55 years for rental projects, according to the report.

For the Hallmark apartments, the California Statewide Communities Development Authority will issue tax-exempt bonds that won’t exceed $25 million to rehabilitate the building. Redwood City’s budget won’t be affected by the issuance of the bonds.

“This is a routine thing we do for a number of different properties,” Mayor Ian Bain said at the Feb. 11 meeting. “We’ve heard loud and clear from the residents that they would like to see this rebuilt. There were many many discussions that took place between the city and the property owners and I’m very very thankful that we’re at this point right now. We look forward to seeing 75 units of below market housing being brought back on the market.”

The Hallmark building has been uninhabitable since 2013 when a six-alarm fire displaced all of its tenants. After years of delays, the owner, KDF Communities, said it reached an agreement with its partner to buy it out and start the rebuild, according to the report.

Affordability levels for the apartment complex will be the same as before the fire: 30 percent of the units will be affordable at 50 percent of area median income and 70 percent of units will be affordable at 60 percent of area median income. There will be 70 one-bedroom units, for which rent will range between $1,330 and $1,605, and one studio apartment.

The Roem development includes 62 low-income units and 63 very low-income units for rent.

The Habitat for Humanity building is a for-sale development. The primary reason the nonprofit developer is requesting additional funds for the project is because it was delayed due to a lawsuit from an adjacent property owner, resulting in increased construction costs, according to the report.

The money the city is loaning to the Roem and Habitat for Humanity developments will come out of affordable housing impact fees and transient occupancy taxes from Airbnb users. Based on approved projects, staff expects $6 million to $6.5 million for affordable housing purposes to be available by June.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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