Linc Begins Affordable Housing Projects in Northern California
The project will contribute 25 percent of the units for this city's affordable housing plan.
Affordable housing nonprofit developer Linc Housing broke ground on its latest scattered-site development project in Eureka, Calif. The company is redeveloping three vacant city-owned properties into affordable housing communities for residents earning 30 to 55 percent of the Area Median Income.
The three buildings being constructed are a 28-unit community located at 550 M St., between 6th and M St., the 31-unit 611 8th St. near G St. and 1310 Myrtle Ave., also featuring 31 affordable units. Design plans include courtyards ranging from 1,566 square feet to 2,244 square feet and community rooms between 606 square feet to 824 square feet.
D33 Design and Planning designed each building and Pacific Builders is the general contractor.
Linc Housing has worked with D33 Design previously on Seaglass, an under-development affordable project located in Los Angeles. The 51-unit development is expected to open in late 2026 and construction costs $28.6 million.
READ ALSO: Expanding California’s Affordable Housing Stock: A Local Perspective
The City of Eureka is working to deliver 315 affordable housing units for the area’s affordable housing shortage. Linc’s projects account for nearly 25 percent of the planned units.
A funding team effort
Funding for this project came from multiple sources over the last few years. According to Lost Coast Outpost, the projects were first approved in October 2020 by the Eureka City Council. It received an Infill Infrastructure Grant for $750,000 in 2021 and $30.1 million from California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program in 2023. Last June, the project received $15 million in funding from the National Housing Trust Fund Program. In addition to these grants, Umpqua Bank provided a construction loan and a permanent loan originated by the California Community Reinvestment Corporation.
Funds are being used to address public transit in the area as well. A portion of the $30.1 million from the AHSC is being used to purchase new micro-transit vehicles, construct bus shelters, make sidewalk repairs and other improvements to public transit access. Additionally, community programs such as a newly founded workforce development program, a homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing program and a no-cost transit pass program for residents within the new buildings are being created.
Also in Northern California’s affordable development pipeline, MidPen Housing Corp., moved into phase two of construction for Midway Village, which will bring 113 income-restricted to the area units by 2027. Phase one of the project finished construction in 2024 with 147 new affordable units. In total, the project is being constructed in four phases totaling 555 residences.
