Posts Tagged ‘affordable housing’
Press Democrat: Spirit Residential Aborts Mill Valley Housing Project for Elders
A developer with an approved plan to build a five-story residential care center with 106 apartments in unincorporated Mill Valley has withdrawn the project. “Spirit Residential has determined that the project may ultimately undergo material changes from the configuration reflected in the current project approval,” Ali Shabahangi, a company manager, wrote in a May 29…
Read MoreMarin County Supervisors Are Set On Tuesday to Approve up to $41 million in Bond Financing for the Affordable Housing Portion of the Long-Planned Oak Hill Development Near Larkspur
The proposed financing would support construction of 115 affordable apartments by nonprofit developer Eden Housing on an 8.5-acre vacant site at 193 East Sir Francis Drake Blvd., just east of Marin Country Mart. The public hearing is required under the federal Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act before the California Municipal Finance Authority can issue…
Read MoreDick Spotswood: Compromises Strengthen Strawberry Development Plan
Americans denigrate the art of compromise. Today, an “all or nothing” mentality predominates. Compromise is a sign of weakness, “selling out” or a betrayal of principles. Fortunately, some in Marin have shown they still appreciate the value of a fair compromise. Deborah Tannen in Politico quotes “The Great Compromiser” Henry Clay. The legendary member of…
Read MoreMarinIJ: Major Strawberry Development Project on Brink of Approval
The stage is set for Marin County supervisors to end a decade-long fight by granting final approval to a major development proposal in Strawberry. The supervisors are scheduled on Tuesday to take up the North Coast Land Holdings proposal for the 127-acre former Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary campus. The proposal calls for 337 residences…
Read MoreThe Mill Valley City Council Unanimously Mill Approved a Series of Zoning Code Updates on June 1st That Officials Hope Will Lure Developers
Mill Valley has updated its affordable housing regulations to encourage small-scale projects. The actions include raising the threshold at which developers must include an affordable dwelling from four residences to seven. For projects of seven or more residences, the city is requiring 15% be affordable, in contrast to 25% before. It is also waiving fees…
Read MoreMarin Voice: More Can Be Done to Build the Housing We Need
Jenny Silva We need more affordable housing. Many residents are pleading for it, and the state is requiring that Marin permit at least 14,000 new housing units by 2031. May is Affordable Housing Month, so I would like to assess how we are doing. Some have the impression that Marin is in the midst of…
Read MoreMarin IJ: Housing projects Near San Quentin Face More Complications
In the face of mounting difficulties, developers want to revise a construction plan for two major housing projects on state land near San Quentin prison. The change stems from an additional delay in financing and environmental clearances for one of the projects along East Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The Marin County Public Financing Authority, a…
Read MorePlanting the Future: The Outdoor Art Club Gets Ready for Its Next Century
If you’ve walked past the shingled building tucked behind the wisteria-covered gate at 1 West Blithedale Avenue lately, you may have noticed something: the Outdoor Art Club has been busy. In fact, over the past three years, the Club — one of the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce’s longtime members — has quietly undertaken a once-in-a-century effort to preserve and renew one of downtown’s architectural gems. The club has hosted generations of civic gatherings, performances, celebrations, and community conversations – but few people remember that in the 1930s it narrowly escaped demolition when the City proposed turning the site into a parking lot. Now, the Club’s members have once again rolled up their sleeves to care for this landmark — this time by ensuring it meets modern safety and health standards while preserving its historic character.
Read MoreDick Spotswood & Mill Valley Councilmember Stephen Burke Brainstormed on the Difficulty Building Housing, Unveiling
Tax incremental financing. Use it now to finance workforce housing: A developer selects a site and applies for permits to build multi-unit homes. Half would be market rate to generate profit; the remainder will be affordable for our workforce, including first responders and teachers. That initial development, like all that follows, will need to be subsidized. Those dollars will need to come from an existing public sector source. The incremental difference between the amount of the “before tax,” and “after tax” determined once construction is complete is reserved. Designated local governments then use that sum to fund the next affordable project, and on and on. Applying tax incremental financing to fund workforce housing is another example of thinking outside the box resulting in new, if yet untested, approaches to housing finance.
Read MoreNYT Reporter Conor Dougherty Has Long Educated Marin & Larger Bay Area About How Best to Navigate Housing, Whether its ‘Abundance,’ Affordability, Now He Suggests ‘America Needs New Cities – a Whole City from Scratch. It’s Been Done Before & Might Solve the Housing Crisis
In the United States, where real estate is ultimately about profit and loss, the best way to bend the paradigm is to prove something different can be lucrative. But first you have to build it.
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