HAYWARD, CA - The City of Hayward celebrated the groundbreaking of three new residential communities on the site of the former South Hayward BART overflow parking lots. Eden Housing is the developer of two affordable communities located off of Mission Boulevard that will provide in total 151 affordable apartments near the South Hayward BART station. AMCAL Equities is the developer of a market-rate community of 206 luxury apartments off of Dixon Street adjacent to the BART station. Both developments received transit-oriented development (TOD) grants from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
“These developments are milestone achievements for the City of Hayward because they represent the principles and values of our community: inclusiveness, perseverance, sustainability and imagination,” said Hayward Mayor Barbara Halliday. “The South Hayward BART Communities have been in the making for many years and we are so grateful to the many partners who helped make them happen, especially Eden Housing and AMCAL.”
The Eden Housing development is known as the South Hayward BART Family & Seniors Communities. These two affordable rental communities will be made up of adjacent five-story standalone buildings sharing a common courtyard, and will provide 87 affordable rental apartments for families and 64 affordable rental apartments for seniors, age 62 or better. Residents will have annual incomes between 30 percent and 50 percent of the Alameda County area median income. For a family of four, this translates into household incomes between $27,600 and $46,000 respectively.
“With available housing in short supply, especially affordable rental housing, these two transit-oriented developments will be a great benefit to hundreds of East Bay families and seniors,” said Senator Bob Wieckowski, a member of the Senate’s Transportation and Housing Committee. “The collaboration among Eden Housing, AMCAL Equities, the City of Hayward, BART, state and federal agencies, and the private sector, demonstrates a commitment to smart growth. The Legislature’s approval of two key affordable housing financing bills (SB 35 and SB 377), gives Governor Brown the opportunity to expand access to more affordable housing in California.”
Previously the South Hayward BART overflow parking lots, these new communities will transform the site into high quality, well managed, residential apartment communities.
“The City of Hayward was willing to take a risk on this project in 2011,” stated State Assemblymember Bill Quirk (AD-20), who served on the Hayward City Council from 2004 to 2012. “Their foresight has been rewarded.”
The South Hayward BART Family & Seniors Communities will include a 10,000-square-foot shared courtyard with a large playground, community gardens, and a spacious BBQ area with picnic tables. Both communities will each have a computer center and a large community room, and the building for seniors will have a fitness and health center. Through Eden’s free Resident Services, residents will benefit from technology training, financial literacy classes, energy and water use efficiency education, health, wellness, and safety programs.
This exciting $53.5 million development is being built using the latest “green building” techniques and materials, and incorporates a number of green features designed to ensure its long-term energy efficiency and sustainability, such as a photovoltaic system that will power 80 percent of the common areas’ electricity and a solar thermal system for domestic hot water heating. The apartment homes will be energy-efficient and utilize low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce the amount of water used. The buildings will be certified with a GreenPoint Rating of 149 and designated as EnergyStar buildings, which will be 28 percent more efficient than California energy standards (Title 24).
The South Hayward BART Family & Seniors Communities is financed with state and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits with financial support from the City of Hayward and City of Hayward Housing Authority, Wells Fargo Community Lending & Investment, California Department of Housing and Community Development, the County of Alameda, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, California Housing Finance Agency, and California Community Reinvestment Corporation.
“We are proud to partner with cities that are making room in their communities for lower income residents to live with their families in the same community where they work,” said Eden Housing Vice Chair Tim Silva. “These folks are important to our communities and they need a place to live.”
AMCAL’s development is known as Cadence, named after the street that will connect Mission Boulevard and Dixon Street. The 206-unit luxury apartment community will feature one- and two-bedroom market-rate apartments and amenities including a state-of-the-art fitness center with separate yoga room, a resident lounge, luxurious pool and spa deck, clubhouse, business center, pet spa, self-service bike parking and repair, and package concierge service.
“We at AMCAL are certainly very exciting to see this day upon us,” said AMCAL Multi-Housing’s CEO Percival Vaz. “It has been an exciting project here next to the South Hayward BART station. We wanted to thank all the dedicated partners – the City of Hayward, HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HCD (California Department of Housing and Community Development), BART, and our neighbor and partner Eden Housing.”
Eden Housing’s 151-unit affordable rental development is situated on 1.44 acres and is expected to be completed in May 2016. AMCAL’s 206-unit $68 million market-rate development is situated on 2.9 acres and is expected to be completed in January 2017. The architect is BDE Architecture and the general contractor is James E. Roberts-Obayashi Corp. for both the affordable and market-rate developments.