JV Completes CA Workforce Housing
Orange Housing Development Corp. and C&C Development have developed Lemon Grove Apartments in Orange, which includes three four-story buildings.
By Jeffrey Steele
Orange, Calif.-based Orange Housing Development Corporation and Tustin, Calif.-based C&C Development have announced the completion of construction on Lemon Grove Apartments. The new workforce housing project is located in the City of Orange.
Constructed on a 3.53-acre site at 1148 N. Lemon Street, Lemon Grove Apartments features four three-story buildings housing 24 two-bedroom and 58 three-bedroom apartments expressly created for larger families. Floorplans range from 849 square feet for two-bedroom units to 1,074 square feet for three-bedroom residences.
Rents are affordable for working families with household incomes ranging from 30 to 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and start at $537 a month for a family of four.
Developed on the site of an industrial facility built in 1965 and demolished to make way for the development, Lemon Grove Apartments is conveniently located. The community is steps from bus stops, a variety of stores, schools and community parks.
The development is adjacent to Citrus Grove, a workforce housing property built on a former industrial site by Orange Housing and C&C Development seven years ago.
Continuation of efforts
“The City of Orange had been focused on the redevelopment of the neighborhood in which the project is located for a number of years,” C&C Development principal Todd Cottle told MHN.
“C&C Development and Orange Housing Development Corporation had previously developed and rehabilitated affordable housing within the neighborhood. The development of the Lemon Grove project was a continuation of those efforts.”
Orange Housing’s and C&C’s redevelopment of underutilized commercial and industrial uses into multifamily development has advanced the housing element in the city, noted City of Orange officials. Redevelopment of industrial and other non-residential sites is a key provision in the city’s Housing Element.
It states urbanized areas being created by growing job opportunities have “produced projects that redevelop commercial and industrial uses to integrate both residential and commercial uses at higher densities than seen previously.”
“The site already allowed for the development of multifamily,” Cottle said. “It had a lower risk of entitlement. It was also located directly adjacent to an existing affordable multifamily community that we owned and operated. Additional units allowed us to continue our revitalization efforts in the neighborhood and to achieve greater economies of scale in operations.”
Creative thinking
“Since our city is nearly built out, we must be very creative in finding viable sites to provide a diversity of housing for our residents,” said council member Mike Alvarez. “A great example of creative thinking is Lemon Grove and its companion Citrus Grove workforce housing properties that have been built by Orange Housing and C&C Development on former industrial sites transformed into residential opportunities.”
Lemon Grove Apartments features state-of-the-art design elements and building practices that reduce maintenance and utility costs. Design elements include solar energy to power common areas and heat water, energy-efficient HVAC units and Energy Star refrigerators and washing machines.