Two new affordable housing communities, including the City of Alameda’s first 100% permanent supportive housing community, opened at Mosley Avenue and Lakehurst Circle on Thursday, September 25. The buildings, Linnet Corner and Estuary I, are the beginnings of the North Housing project being developed by the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda (AHA) in collaboration with Island City Development (ICD). The project promises more than 500 rental units for low-income residents at its completion by 2030.
Estuary I is Alameda’s first new fully permanent supportive housing community, meaning that all 45 units would be completely dedicated to housing residents who were previously unhoused. In addition, Linnet Corner features another 64 units dedicated to housing seniors, including 16 units meant for previously homeless veterans. Estuary II is currently in development.
All AHA properties have onsite staff from LifeSTEPS, an organization providing support services for affordable housing residents. However, Estuary I has more intensive support services to address the needs of chronically homeless people.
Mark Richardson, the intensive case manager at Estuary I, said residents who have been homeless for a long time may need support readjusting to some tasks.
“It can be a shock to them, because they’ve been doing something for x amount of years trying to survive on a daily basis,” Richardson said. “Now they come into a community where they don’t know anyone, they have to re-learn certain things all over again, like for instance, paying rent, paying utilities, paying certain bills.”
AHA Community Relations Manager Joshua Altieri added, “The resident services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills and connect residents with community-based health care, treatment, and employment services.”
Guests at the opening event were encouraged to take self-guided tours around the buildings. “The buildings are beautiful. I want to encourage you to really look at some of the spaces,” AHA President Vanessa Cooper said at the ceremony. She pointed out the views of the estuary residents have access to and the rooftop gardens.
“We have only studios and one-bedrooms here, so we really like to look at highly active programming that gets individuals out into those spaces,” Cooper said.
The two housing communities were built simultaneously and expedited with SB 35, which helps to streamline affordable housing projects—the first use of the bill in Alameda.
“It’s been a super helpful tool,” AHA Chair Carly Grob said. “The time and energy and money it takes to hire consultants for environmental review, for example. That process can take years. So that [SB 35] makes the housing much easier to deliver, and it makes it easier to deliver faster.”
Grob added, “The goal is really to help Alamedans find affordable housing. I’ll say this is special for me because we are housing the most vulnerable people when you think about the formerly homeless.”
Richardson encouraged people who may be interested in helping to donate and attend community meetings in support of affordable housing.
The 12 acres of land for the North Housing project was part of the Surplus Property Disposal that the U.S. Navy performed.
Vicky Nguyen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Vicky-Nguyen.
