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Construction is officially underway on a six-story apartment building in Mountain View, marking the second time this year that a 100% affordable housing project has broken ground in the city.
Dozens gathered last week to celebrate work starting on La Bella, a 108-unit complex slated for low-income households.
Located at 1020 Terra Bella Ave., the roughly 1-acre site near U.S. Highway 101 was previously a safe parking lot for people living in RVs. The project was made possible by a land swap between Alta Housing, the nonprofit developer, and Public Storage, which owns the property next door.
“There is one theme that stands out with this development,” Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos said at the Oct. 8 event. “And that theme is creativity.”
The swap – which involved the housing project getting a little more than half an acre of additional land – made it possible for Alta Housing to roughly double the number of affordable units. The swap also benefited Public Storage. With the reconfigured land, Public Storage plans to redevelop and enlarge its existing facility at 1040 Terra Bella Ave.
Mountain View contributed $13.5 million toward the development and Santa Clara County kicked in $10.5 million, $8.5 million of which came from Measure A, an affordable housing bond that voters approved back in 2016. The total cost of the project is more than $100 million, according to Carlos Castellanos, Alta Housing’s vice president of real estate development.
When it opens, La Bella will serve individuals and families earning 30% to 60% of the area median income, Castellanos said. In Santa Clara County, that would mean a four-person household earning $61,650 to $123,300 a year.
“They’re the cooks, the clerks, the mechanics, bus drivers who keep the community running,” Castellanos said. “Far too many of them can’t find a home near where they serve the community.”
La Bella will have a mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Of the 108 units, 27 will be reserved for people transitioning out of homelessness, 23 will come with rental assistance vouchers and 10 are designated for individuals with developmental disabilities, Castellanos said.
The project also includes a lobby, community room, landscaped courtyard, children’s play areas, community garden and laundry facilities, according to an Alta Housing press release. Alta plans to manage the property and provide on-site resident services as well.
Construction started in September and is expected to be completed in 2028, the press release said.
La Bella is the fourth Alta Housing project to get off the ground in Mountain View. Earlier this year, Alta started construction on Corso, a 120-unit affordable apartment complex that is replacing a downtown municipal parking lot. In the past decade, Alta also built the Eagle Park and Luna Vista apartments on El Camino Real.
108 units (106 + 2 manager units) with 96 parking spaces. Most likely 4 of those spots will be reserved for the managers. So 92 spots for 106 units. But there will be 108 bicycle storage places. Will Terra Bella Ave look like California Ave soon? After all, with all the residents riding bicycles, they will need those lanes. And it would eliminate the RV parking as well. So I guess it is a win-win in the end.
Living in low cost housing does not mean no cars. Will the occupants be limited to the number of tenants. Then bike parking may be nice but most may have e bikes or scooters that need charging. “They’re the cooks, the clerks etc … who keep the community running but how do you assure they are local
The parking spots are an absolute disaster and not realistic. I don’t know any family of 4 without a car, it would be so expensive without a car. You really expect them to drag there kids around everywhere walking or biking, especially newborns or toddlers for doctor appts, just absurd or even from the hospital after birth. They will probably have difficulty filling them due to the parking issues or public spots will be flooded with cars.
60 discount units are the other 48 units full price? 24 million from tax payers how many mini homes can you put on a acer? mini homes cost 20-40K ? so 60 for 2.4 million city owns the lot. If the city can set up the utility hook ups for less than $21,000,000 which idea is better ???