On Tuesday August 13th, Mountain View Mayor Lisa Matichak, and Housing Trust of Silicon Valley CEO Kevin Zwick, joined other city and county leaders to celebrate new construction of affordable housing at Shorebreeze Apartments being developed by MidPen Housing.
The expansion of Shorebreeze Apartments is a response to the tremendous need for affordable workforce housing in Silicon Valley, one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets where many workers are being priced out. Originally built in 1980 and acquired by MidPen in 1997, Shorebreeze has long provided 120 affordable rental apartment homes for families and seniors. With the work currently underway, 108 of the original apartments will be renovated and 62 brand new apartments will be constructed, resulting in a net gain of 50 affordable homes – all on the original site footprint.
Mountain View is a San Francisco Bay Area leader in housing growth. But like other cities in the Bay Area, the city is also grappling with homelessness. Residents of the new affordable apartments at Shorebreeze will be income qualified with a preference given to applicants who live and/or work in Mountain View, and 20 apartments will be set aside for households at risk of homelessness.
“We have heard from our partners in the Emergency Assistance Network that the most effective way to combat homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place,” said Mountain View Mayor Lisa Matichak. “With this latest multi-agency partnership that will result in the expansion of Shorebreeze Apartments, we are not only providing more affordable housing opportunities in our City, we are building a stable foundation to keep Mountain View families in their homes and part of our community for many years to come.”
Located less than two miles from the major employment center in North Bayshore and within easy walking distance to downtown Mountain View and Cal Train, Shorebreeze is in very close proximity to thousands of jobs, public transportation, and many community amenities.
“Mountain View has long demonstrated tremendous leadership in providing housing solutions for their residents,” said Matthew O. Franklin, President and CEO of MidPen Housing. “Their investment in Shorebreeze, located in such a prime location, is further evidence of this commitment and vision and we’re honored to partner with the city on MidPen’s ninth development in Mountain View.”
The expansion at Shorebreeze includes replacing 12 original townhomes with 62 brand new apartments. Residents of those townhomes have been temporarily relocated with assistance from MidPen and will be given first priority on the new apartment homes. The renovation will expand the community room, improve the landscape, and replace windows and sliders on the 108 original apartments.
Expected to welcome new residents in summer of 2020, the expanded Shorebreeze Apartments will provide a total of 170 apartment homes: 21 studios; 93 one-bedrooms; 44 two-bedrooms; and 12 three-bedrooms. The original 108 apartments are occupied by families and seniors earning up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) which is $73,150 for a four-person household. 60 of the new apartments will be eligible to families earning up to 60% of AMI ($87,780 for a four-person household); and 2 will be eligible for families earning up to 80% of AMI ($117,040 for a four-person household). All residents of Shorebreeze will also enjoy a community room, computer lab, fitness center, children’s playground, a courtyard and secured bicycle storage.
Shorebreeze residents have access to a wide range of professional onsite services provided by MidPen Services, a MidPen Housing affiliate. These include financial capabilities and professional development courses; health and wellness programs and onsite health screenings; computer classes; independent living classes for seniors; and academically-based after school and summer programs for youth.
Financing for the renovation and new construction at Shorebreeze was provided through public and private sources including the City of Mountain View, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Trust Silicon Valley and Union Bank. The communities were designed by the award-winning DAHLIN Group Architects and the contractor is CORE Builders. MidPen Property Management will provide professional, onsite management.