Eden Housing Gives Castro Valley Creekbed Indigenous Trust

Eden Housing has donated 3 acres of creek land in Castro Valley to a trust for Native American tribes after winning approval for a controversial plan to build 72 affordable homes.

The Hayward-based nonprofit developer gave the riparian land next to its Crescent Grove complex at 22447 Crescent Grove to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

It’s the first waterway to be returned to the trust, according to trust co-founder Corrina Gould, a spokeswoman for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan and Ohlone tribes. The trust has worked with governments and nonprofits since 2015 to rename parks and return East Bay land to Indigenous stewardship.

“We are blessed to have this piece of our creek return to us,” Gould said at a news conference. “We’re going to be able to care for this land and this waterway as we dream and pray for our salmon to come back home.”

The 3-acre property along San Lorenzo Creek in the unincorporated neighborhood south of Interstate 580 is part of a 6.3-acre parcel that Caltrans sold to Eden Housing in 2019, according to the Chronicle.

It had sat vacant for years after plans to build the Hayward Bypass, a proposed four-lane freeway east of Highway 238, were blocked by neighbors, according to Caltrans and Eden Housing officials.

In 2020, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the controversial plan to turn the property into a 72-unit affordable housing complex. Neighbors opposed the plan, saying it would displace wildlife and destroy what locals dub Ruby Meadow.

Three of the 6 acres couldn’t be developed, and Eden Housing tried to find a party to take the land as a gift, according to Samantha Meyer, senior project developer for Eden Housing. A neighbor who opposed the development connected Eden to the Indigenous trust.

The land trust plans to manage the land through a conservation easement funded perpetually by Caltrans. It also plans to restore the area by reintroducing native plant species and restoring the habitat along the creek.

Plans by Eden Housing call for a gray, three-story building with 72 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for homeless households, veterans and families earning from 20 percent to 60 percent of area median income. One unit will serve an on-site manager.

Some 60 percent of the property will be used for green space, with construction now underway for a bike and pedestrian path next to the complex.

In addition to its land trust donation, Eden Housing gave a third of an acre to the Hayward Area Recreation District for a park and trailhead.

“We do not typically own land or creeks like this, but we saw the value of this asset and we wanted to partner with someone who was going to restore it to its potential,” Meyer told reporters.

Eden Housing, founded in 1984, has built or bought 12,000 affordable homes across California, according to its website.

In June, the nonprofit moved forward with another controversial plan to build a 130-unit affordable housing complex in Downtown Livermore after the city killed an attempt to put it on the November ballot.

— Dana Bartholomew