The City Council approved $2.2 million in additional funding for an affordable housing development project for low-income seniors at its joint meeting with the Glendale Housing Authority on Jan. 30.
The project, located at 426 Piedmont Avenue and 507 Naranja Drive, was first approved in October, and will turn what was previously an assisted living facility into a building with 67 affordable rental units for seniors earning 30% to 60% of area median income, which is $81,219 for 2018-2022. City staff anticipates this development will be fully leased and occupied by March 31, 2026.
Bradley Calvert, the city’s director of community development, said that there is an overall need for affordable housing throughout Glendale and especially for “at-risk seniors who are on fixed incomes.”
“[Affordable senior housing structures] are a means for us to create an all age inclusive environment that can allow people to potentially age in place,” Calvert told the News-Press. “Having that diversity is what helps [the city] stay balanced and makes our affordable developments even stronger.”
Members of the city’s community development team stressed the importance of creating spaces that encourage socialization, highlighting the 500-square-foot kitchen on the first floor which residents can share.
“Indoor amenity spaces including a new kitchen, dining rooms, lounge and multipurpose rooms, foster mindful engagement and address the needs associated with aging in place,” according to city staff’s report on the development.
The building will also feature a community garden and a picnic deck.
Previously, Council approved $11.9 million in funding for the project’s land loan and the recently approved $2.2 million will be used as a development loan from the city’s allocated Permanent Local Housing Allocation program funds. In order to pay for the remainder of the project, EAH Housing, the city’s chosen development team for this project, will apply for $22.6 million in 9% Tax Credits from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee this month.
Having the right team to work with is imperative to delivering great development projects, Calvert said, adding that the city wants to work with companies who are not only fiscally smart, but also fiscally creative.
“We want to see somebody who has built high-quality work, who has done this before and who can give us a product that we believe is emblematic of the standards the city, of Council and the Housing Authority would have for any affordable housing development.”
Depending on whether a tenant rents a studio or one bedroom unit at Piedmont and depending on where they fall on the AMI, monthly rent is estimated to range from $515 to $1,418, said Mike Fortney, deputy director of community development.
After hearing these estimates, Councilwoman Elen Asatryan asked if these rents could be lowered based on the amount of Social Security income seniors are currently receiving.
Fortney replied that before the city enters into an official Affordable Housing Agreement for the project, following the expected approval of its tax credit application, there will be an opportunity to adjust those rents. He also pointed out that the city can look at how seniors are managing to pay rent on various other affordable housing options in the city.
In addition to the Piedmont development, Glendale has a number of affordable senior housing projects underway including developments at 912 E. Broadway, 900 E. Broadway and 515 Pioneer Dr., which is being designed both for seniors and low-income families.
The project at Pioneer Drive, which Calvert said is the largest affordable housing development under construction in the state, will spread 340 units across the nearly 3-acre site. Of these affordable units, 92 will be reserved for seniors ages 62 and older earning between 30% and 80% of the AMI. Expected to be completed by December 2025, the development will consist of three five-story buildings.
The projects on East Broadway are closer to fruition with an end goal of September 2024 and are currently in the interior construction phase. The development at 900 E. Broadway, which will be called the Citrus Crossing, will have 127 apartments for seniors earning between 30% and 70% of the AMI.
Adjacent to Citrus Crossing is Harrower Village, located at 912 E. Broadway, which will have 40 affordable rental units for seniors earning between 30% and 60% of the AMI.
First published in the February 10 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
