TECH Fund Takes Stage With Leigh Avenue, Microsoft News
Housing Trust Silicon Valley Acting CEO Julie Mahowald (second from right) at the Leigh Avenue Groundbreaking
February 1st brought happy news to Housing Trust, First Community Housing and other partners who had a stake in a San Jose senior apartment complex that had been in the works for years.
First Community Housing assembled several funding sources for the approximately $50 million project, including a $2 million predevelopment loan from Housing Trust. Those funds came from our TECH Fund, the investment vehicle created to enable philanthropists and greater Bay Area employers to take part in the affordable housing solution - recently featured in Affordable Housing Finance magazine.
TECH Fund also got a nationwide introduction in January when Microsoft made a $500 million investment in affordable housing in the Seattle area - partly modeling their initiative on TECH Fund and showing how its influence is spreading. Read the Seattle Times feature here!
Empower Homebuyers SCC Has Running Start in 2019
Adria Quinones-Masur, Director of Housing Trust's Homeownership Team
Empower Homebuyers SCC, the 2016 Measure A funded down payment assistance program created by the County of Santa Clara and administered by Housing Trust, has been off to a busy start in 2019 with several outreach events and more in the pipeline.
A workshop at San Jose State University in late January was filled with interested homebuyers - and attracted the attention of media including
NBC Bay Area,
ABC 7 News and
San Jose Spotlight. The next workshop is being held in the city of
Milpitas on March 6.
An Affordable Home Brings Brings More Time For Jose's Family
Jose with his wife Marcella and their children at home in Santa Clara
The recently published Silicon Valley Index reported that mean travel time to work has jumped 20% in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties over the past ten years - in part because housing costs have pushed some workers further from their jobs. The time spent commuting is lost - but sometimes it can come back.
The son of a large family and a Marine, Jose grew up and entered his twenties accustomed to little privacy and shared space. While working as a machinist in Sunnyvale, he and his wife Marcella found themselves moving into smaller and smaller apartments further and further from their jobs while they searched for affordability. But they heard of the below market purchase (BMP) program through a relative, and ultimately moved into a new home in Santa Clara - with more than enough space for them and their two small children.
Now both Jose and Marcella are less than twenty minutes from where they work - a commute that used to be an hour at their last apartment. How do they use the extra free time? A lot more quality time with their kids and Jose is even going to school to study industrial technology.
"This is a place we can raise our kids and not have to worry about issues with a landlord or being forced out," Jose told us. "Having this home is a dream come true."
We're still assembling sponsors for this event and it isn't too late for your organization to step forward: Email Julie Quinn at julie@housingtrustsv.org and be counted among the greater Bay Area corporations, non-profits and others committed to affordable housing.
Join us at Investor Briefing 2019 and ask friends to join you by sharing the shortcut link
investorbriefing2019.eventbrite.com on your Twitter, Facebook or other social media profile. Remember there is a special discounted rate for nonprofit and government employees and if you are a member of the press and wish to attend please contact Michael Norris at michael@housingtrustsv.org.
Investor Briefing is on Friday, March 29th - networking begins at 10:30am with the formal program starting at 11:30am and wrapping up by 1:00pm. See you on March 29!
