“We cannot effectively address the homelessness and affordability crises in the Bay Area if we continue building and funding affordable housing in the same way,” said Rebecca Foster, CEO of the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, which will manage the new Bay Area project.
“We must think outside the box to significantly reduce costs and timelines. This fund is designed to showcase what is possible when we have clear goals, a shared commitment to meet these targets, and a simplified financing structure,” Foster said, in a statement.
Next week, Mercy Housing will break ground on the Bay Area’s fund’s first initiative to start construction. The project at 1633 Valencia Street, in the Mission District, will provide 145 units of permanent supportive housing for seniors experiencing or at imminent risk of experiencing homelessness.
The fund expects a second project to break ground later this year in Santa Cruz. The financing model offered by the Housing Innovation Fund is geared to speed up construction and avoid escalating costs, aiming for projects that can be completed within three years at targeted unit costs.
Cupertino-based Apple said it has thus far invested $1.6B to assist affordable housing developers with more than 90 projects building or preserving more than 10,000 residential units in California, many of which have already been completed.
Apple also has helped more than 35K Bay Area residents who were at risk of losing their homes and has assisted more than 2,500 first-time home buyers finance their properties, the tech firm said.
In addition to the Bay Area fund, Apple is working with Housing Trust Silicon Valley, the California Housing Finance Agency, United Way of Greater Los Angeles and several individual housing developers to address the housing crisis.
