Sacramento moving forward with large affordable housing complex near city park. Here’s where
A plan to build a large affordable housing complex at a long-vacant Sacramento armory is moving forward.
The Sacramento City Council will Tuesday consider applying for a state grant for the project at the corner of Arden Way and Oxford Street near Woodlake Park.
Bridge Housing Corp. plans to build 124 units at the site, serving households who earn between 30% and 60% area median income, according to a city staff report. That means the maximum household incomes would range from about $22,000 to $54,000. A quarter of one-to-three bedroom units would be for permanent supportive housing, which is typically used for homeless individuals.
The ground floor would include a child care center, retail space and a community room.
The site, formerly an armory built in 1949, is currently comprised of paved vacant lots and two single-story buildings that have been vacant for more than 20 years, according to a state web page. It has a prime location, right next to Woodlake Park and the Arden/Del Paso light rail station.
In an effort to improve the state’s severe housing crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 signed an executive order to make state-owned surplus property available for affordable housing. The list included the Woodlake armory site. The governor’s office also included the site on a list of properties that could be used as homeless shelters in 2020.
The state solicited bids and selected Bridge as the developer for the Woodlake site, a city staff report said. The company plans to start construction in fall 2023 and open the project in 2025, according to its website.
The $82 million Woodlake project would mostly be funded by federal and state grants, the staff report said. The city would waive roughly $470,000 in fees.
Very low-income renters in the Sacramento metro area face a shortage of more than 78,000 affordable and available homes, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The 2019 executive order also prompted a Capital Area Development Authority project at 1322 O Street with 57 affordable microunits, which is currently under construction.
The council meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday. It will be livestreamed on the city’s website.
