Bridge Housing Bridges Gap With Bay Area Affordable Community
The company celebrated the completion of the first phase of a mixed-use affordable development and the ground-breaking of the second phase, which will bring 85 adjacent units for low-income seniors.
By Ariela Moraru
Bridge Housing is helping bridge the income gap with the opening of Marea Alta, a mixed-use, transit-oriented, affordable housing development designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects. The company has completed the first phase of the project, which includes 115 affordable family apartments and a child care center, and has broken ground on the second phase: 85 adjacent units for low-income seniors.
Located at 1400 San Leandro Blvd. in San Leandro, Calif., in-between interstates 880 and 580, the development is located on a former BART parking lot opposite San Leandro BART Station. The first phase targets households earning 30 to 60 percent of the area median income ($31,290 to $57,365 for a family of four) and also includes 7,829 square feet of retail and more than 240 below-grade parking spaces for BART patrons. The property features studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments. The child care center will be operated by Davis Street Family Resource Center.
Marea Alta was the first Bridge development to use modular construction, which will be deployed again for the second phase of the project, to be called San Leandro Senior Apartments. The 85 units are slated for completion in early 2018 and will serve households earning up to 30 to 50 percent of the area median income (up to $41,750 for a household of two). Bridge will partner with Episcopal Senior Communities to provide services to the residents.
Financial partners for both developments include the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the city of San Leandro and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Wells Fargo provided additional funding totaling $38.6 million for the first phase, while the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda, Alameda County Community Development Agency and U.S. Bank partly funded the second phase. Cannon Constructors North is the general contractor for both phases. The public partner and land owner is the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
Bridge Housing has also recently completed the renovation of Ocean View Senior Apartments, a 100-unit community in Pacifica, Calif., on the other side of the bay. The company is also developing the 45-unit Cornelius Place in Cornelius, Ore., which will provide housing for low-income seniors and a public library.
Rendering courtesy of Bridge Housing