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The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce was recognized for its Affordable Housing Fund Partnership Program at this year’s Western Chamber of Commerce Executive Conference in Anaheim.
During an event in early February, Metro Chamber of Commerce received the Outstanding Chamber Program Award for its partnership with Housing Trust Silicon Valley, according to a news release issued Feb. 29. It is said that he did.
The Sonoma County Housing Fund Partnership will help the Chamber of Commerce secure local investment to help build affordable housing, while the Housing Trust, a nonprofit community lending fund, will underwrite, approve and manage the loans. This is a $10 million initiative.
Four other chambers were also selected: California’s Atascadero Chamber, Oceanside Chamber, Santa Maria Valley Chamber, and New Mexico’s Santa Fe Chamber.
The award recognizes programs that align with the Western Chamber of Commerce Association’s core competency areas, including strengthening local economies, promoting and improving communities, political action, representing business interests with government, and building business relationships. It is something to do.
Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO Peter Rumble said in an email that the award validates the chamber’s decision to create the program and the positive impact it has had. Ta. He said that should be the goal of the entire House.
“The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce has a history of making significant contributions to the community, and this recognition confirms that our work on housing is part of that heritage,” Rumble said. Stated. “We hope that recognition like this will raise the profile of the fund, make it accessible to more developers, and encourage more donors to invest in the fund. Masu.”
The chamber wanted to accelerate housing development by helping to finance “pre-development costs,” which are often a significant hurdle to housing development. ahThis will make the project financially viable from the start of construction.
The fund was launched in early 2020 with a seed investment from Kaiser Permanente. He was able to fund three of his projects to build 250 units of affordable housing.
The initial success of the launch led to additional investment from Kaiser Permanente and the Community Foundation of Sonoma County, according to a news release. Under an agreement with the Housing Trust Silicon Valley, the housing fund will be able to raise nearly four times as much capital from Silicon Valley to match locally sourced investments.
Once the loan is repaid, the money will be recycled into new development, according to a previous Press Democrat report. The Metro Chamber does not make a profit and uses interest income to cover transaction costs.
So far, the program has funded Shiloh Terrace in Windsor, Siesta Senior Apartments outside Sonoma, and Stony Point Flats and Acme Family Apartments in Santa Rosa.
The program also funded two housing projects planned by Phoenix Development Corporation. This includes the Pullman Lofts Phase 3 project in Santa Rosa and his 200 and 209 B Street developments in downtown Santa Rosa.
Rumble said in an email that these new projects are very recent deals and are still undergoing pre-development work.
“A big advantage of the Sonoma County Housing Fund is that we can fund these upfront costs that are not common in the commercial market,” he said. “So we can accelerate development by making financing easier and cheaper.”
A city spokesperson said a pre-development review application has been submitted for a potential project located at 200B Street and 290B Street, within the existing Wells Fargo building between Third and Fourth Avenues. Ta.
The proposed project would introduce 71 multifamily workforce housing units and additional commercial space and amenities.
The exterior appearance of both buildings, current site conditions, and existing parking areas will be maintained.
According to the Housing Trust Silicon Valley website, the Housing Fund provided Phoenix Development with a $7.2 million acquisition loan.
A second project confirmed by Phoenix Development co-owner Lauren Bruggeman includes a third phase of Pullman Lofts, proposed for a new building across from Building C in the complex. 70 units will be built.
Investments in these developments have produced 583 homes to date, according to a news release. Additionally, the average household size in Sonoma County is 2.5 people, so project leaders estimate that 1,457 people benefited.
“The Sonoma County Housing Fund is not the only solution, but it is an important step forward,” Rumble said in a news release. “With the results we have seen so far, we look forward to raising even more capital for the fund to build on this success.”
Contact Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. Com. I’m @sedwards380 on Twitter.
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