Auburn, Calif.- After years of work, this week will herald a huge step toward building affordable housing in Auburn. A 6.2-acre parcel of land has closed escrow and will serve as the site of a 64-unit affordable housing development. Construction of the Silver Bend Way project, known as the Quartz Ridge Family Apartments will begin this coming spring and is expected to open the following year.
Placer County is contributing $3.215 million to the project with $2 million in gap funding and another $1.215 million land loan. The total project cost will be $19.5 million.
With tax credits secured, the project developer, USA Properties Fund Inc., is set to move forward. The complex funding includes the Placer County contribution, a land transfer, and construction lending and equity investor contributions. After escrow closed, building permits were issued and the ground breaking will begin in a few months. USA Properties will be both the developer and project builder. Kuchman Architects PC will serve as the project architect. After completion, USA Properties will be the property manager.
“With this much-needed project poised to start construction, I can only praise staff for their dedicated work and perseverance to get this project ready to be built,” said Michael Johnson, the county’s Director of the Community Development Resources Agency. “Building affordable housing projects is a difficult process, as evidenced by the length of time it’s taken to get this one ready to go.”
The project will consist of eight, two-story buildings and has passed the plan check stage of development. The 64-apartment unit will have garden-style units and will come with a 55-year rent restrictions to ensure rent remain at appropriate levels. With a dearth of affordable housing in the area, the developer anticipates the development will be rented out before it opens. The apartments, which will be one-, two-, and three bedrooms, will range in size from 672 square feet to 1,058 square feet. The project will also have a community room and clubhouse for hosting activities such as after-school programs and job-skills assistance workshops.
Construction is planned to begin this spring on the garden-style apartments configured in eight two-story buildings at 200 Silver Bend Way. Residents wishing to live in the Quartz Ridge Apartments will have to meet income requirements at or below 80 percent of the regional median income.
The developer will announce when they are taking applications, although that is not expected to happen until January 2016.
