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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.
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