A 110-unit apartment complex intended to house teachers and other public school employees can move forward after county officials approved additional construction financing.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors signed off on an additional $21 million for the development at 231 Grant Avenue, San Francisco YIMBY reported, after the developer said supply chain issues and inflation had driven up the project’s costs.
Affordable housing firms Mercy Housing and Abode Communities are developing the project, in partnership with Santa Clara County, the City of Palo Alto and local school districts. Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, kicked in $25 million in 2019, the same year it pledged to build 20,000 affordable housing units across Silicon Valley by 2029.
“We were all hoping that 18 months ago, costs would flatten or decline, but with supply chain and commodities, we’re seeing 8 to 12 percent inflation in the construction world,” Mercy Housing president Doug Shoemaker told the East Bay Times last month. Units will now cost around $792,000 each, according to YIMBY.
The new 112,000-square-foot, four-story building will replace an existing 6,800-square-foot office on the site. About 2,000 square feet will be set aside for community space, including a lounge, activity room and laundry room. Parking for 112 vehicles and 134 bicycles will also be included, as well as 1,200 square feet of commercial space.
San Francisco-based Van Meter Williams Pollack is the architect for the project. The firm’s design includes three public plazas with matured redwood trees, an accessible community room and sidewalk landscaping.
Construction is expected to begin at 231 Grant Avenue this coming fall, and the developers hope to have the project completed in 2024. The development, located a few blocks from the California Avenue Caltrain station, will rise across the street from the Palo Alto Courthouse and the planned Public Safety Building currently under construction at 250 Sherman Avenue.
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[SFYIMBY] — Victoria Pruitt