Santa Cruz Awarded $5 Million For Affordable Housing

Press release from the City of Santa Cruz:

March 1, 2021

Santa Cruz – The City of Santa Cruz announced today that it has been awarded $5 million through the State Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department’s highly competitive grant program, Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF).

The award, allocated over five years, will provide critical funding to support at least three city-led affordable housing projects in the pipeline: Pacific Station North, Pacific Station South and the Library Mixed-Use Project. It also represents the first such funding for the City since 2009.

“Since the loss of redevelopment agencies statewide in 2012, we have seen a significant decline in the amount of funding available for these critical affordable housing projects. This is an incredible win for the City of Santa Cruz,” Economic Development Director Bonnie Lipscomb said.

The LHTF program award is intended to provide matching funds to local and regional housing trust funds dedicated to the creation, rehabilitation, or preservation of affordable housing, transitional housing and emergency shelters.

There were 33 applicants competing for the $57 million total funds, which were oversubscribed by 107%, meaning $118 million total was requested. The City finished in joint third place with five other jurisdictions out of the 17 jurisdictions awarded.

“A typical affordable housing project relies on a complex web of funding sources. With three City-led projects representing more than 200 units of affordable housing in the pipeline, this new funding source is coming at just the right time,” Housing & Community Development Division Manager Jessica de Wit said.

This press release was produced by the City of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author’s own.