Affordable TOD Opens in Northern California

Oakland, Calif.–Trestle Glen, a transit-oriented, eco-and pedestrian-friendly apartment community located in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, Calif. has opened.

The community, designed by KTGY Group, and developed by Bridge Housing Corp., will provide workforce housing to families earning between 20 percent and 50 percent of the area’s median income.

The dwellings range in size from one-to-three bedroom units, with 28 one-, 44 two- and 47 three bedroom apartment homes. Rent is currently $403 to $1,400 per month, based on family and apartment size and income level.

With a GreenPoint rated score of 128, where 50 points is a minimum requirement, the new $44.5 million, five-story development incorporates Spanish Mediterranean architectural elements, as well as a number of green features, such as solar panels to preheat domestic hot water, bio-swales that naturally filter rainwater, and a community recycling program. During construction, more than 80 percent of waste generated was recycled and diverted from landfills.

Trestle Glen features a community center with a kitchen, a 56-space childcare facility with outdoor play space, landscaped courtyard areas, basketball court, tot lot and laundry facilities.

The childcare facility is a signature amenity for Trestle Glen, open to residents as well as the community, says Kim Nash, project manager at Bridge Housing Corp. The land that Trestle Glen is built on is a former mobile home park, which Bridge acquired from the previous owner, with construction beginning in May, 2008. The community was built with county, state and federal funds, as well as with tax-credit-investment money, Nash says, noting that San Mateo County has been a particularly strong advocate of the project

Trestle Glen received approximately 1,200 applications for the 119 units. The complex is now about half occupied, and will be full by July.

The apartment community’s onsite resident services also include English as second language classes, homebuyer workshops, credit counseling and financial management classes, computer skills classes, and after-school programs and homework clubs.

Located adjacent to the Colma BART station and a number of SanTrans bus lines, some other green features are: low-VOC paints used in the interior; a landscape irrigation controller that receives weather data via a satellite connection; a high-efficiency drip irrigation system; and a high-efficiency gas-powered boiler that heats domestic hot water.