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It is not every day that an affordable housing development breaks ground on the site of a mortuary. But after 66 years as a family-owned business, The Cusimano Family Colonial Mortuary will close its doors on Aug. 31, and a six-story apartment building will rise in its place.
For Sherri Cusimano, it is a bittersweet ending to a lifetime of work. As a child, she lived on the residential floor of the mortuary and helped her parents, Joseph and Sue Cusimano, with the family business before taking it over with her brother, Matthew Cusimano.
“I spent 56 years in the building on a daily basis, living and then working. I don’t live here now, but I’ve worked here every day for 43 years,” Cusimano said. “It’s hard to imagine that I’m not going to be coming into this building on a daily basis.”
It was a family decision to sell the property, Cusimano said, adding that it was an honor and privilege to serve the Mountain View community and surrounding cities. But while a chapter closes for The Cusimano Family Colonial Mortuary – which will join Lima and Campagna Mortuaries in Sunnyvale – an opportunity has opened up for the city.
In June, Mountain View approved a new affordable housing development at 96 W. El Camino Real. The project was set in motion last February when the council allocated $8 million to Danco Communities, an affordable housing developer, to build a 79-unit apartment complex on the 1.15-acre site.
Subject to AB 2162, which streamlines the approval process for affordable housing projects, the development will have apartments available to households earning up to 60% of the county’s Area Median Income (AMI). It will also set aside 20 apartment units, as permanent supportive housing, which will be available to those earning less than 30% AMI.
More than half of the apartments will be two- and three-bedroom units, which will help augment the studios and one-bedrooms that make up the majority of the city’s affordable housing stock, according to the council report.
The project qualified for additional density under state housing law, and received development waivers to add more height to the building and reduce setbacks. It also received a concession to cut down on parking too, which helps bring down the cost of the project, said Community Development Director Aarti Shrivastava.
Additional funding for the project includes $7.9 million from the County of Santa Clara, which pitched in housing funds from the 2016 Measure A affordable housing bond. Because the city allocated more money than the county, it eventually will have ownership of the property, according to the council report, which cited Measure A funding stipulations.
Danco spokesperson Laura Berreth confirmed this arrangement; the city will take the fee title to the property and will lease it back to the development at $1 per year for 99 years, she said in an email. “This is a common standard practice for cities within the Bay Area … cities own the land and lease it back in exchange for their financing to help get projects done,” she added.
Other sources of funding include an acquisition loan, tax exempt bonds and low-income housing tax credits at the state and federal level, Berreth said in the email.
Construction for the project likely will begin in November 2024 and will take about two years to complete, falling well within the timeline of the city’s recently approved housing element that identified sites that could add more than 11,000 new housing units over the next eight years.
“It’s a pretty impressive line-up that we have,” Shrivastava said, referring to the city’s plans for building more housing.
Update: After the city council allocated $8 million to the affordable housing project, Santa Clara County committed $7.9 million to the project, not the $6.9 million stated in the staff report and earlier version of this story.
Outstanding news! 2 and 3 bedroom affordable units like this are sorely needed, and it’s an excellent location.
Agreed – outstanding news! Looks like a fantastic project! Thanks to Bruce, for up voting it. Great to see an Old Mountain View resident supporting such a project in Old Mountain View! That is the kind of neighbor we need for the welcoming, diverse, well-functioning community that we should all want.
Makes sense for the mortuary family to cash out the $12+ million their property is worth. Definitely more than they would make burying the dead.
I’m glad to hear about the positive impact of California AB 2162 on projects like the one at the Cusimano Family Mortuary site in Mountain View. It’s fantastic to see streamlined approval processes for such important developments. While AB 2162 is a step in the right direction, I hope the city can continue to explore ways to facilitate quick approvals for more housing projects independently, without relying solely on state action. This could greatly contribute to addressing housing needs efficiently and sustainably.
The entire project will probably cost something like $90 Million, which is important context that the story lacks. The interest rate rise will affect the total cost of the project over time. There won’t be any property tax to pay out of rental income and so the rents that will be paid will pay carrying costs on a lot of the borrowed money The land is worth at least $15 Million so that is basically where the city and county funding will go. Then there will be $75 million to fund with borrowing which is a tidy some to need to raise that way, in increments as construction goes forward. Annual interest costs will be $4 million and there will need to be pay back for the borrowed amount. Some kind of operating subsidy will needed beyond rents as the amount per unit per month for loan payments will be about $5000. Maybe rent from occupants will pay back $2500 of this, and then $2500 per month per unit will be needed from elsewhere. So there’s a limit to how many projects like this can be done.
I imagine setting all this up is why it’s going to take over a year to get started on construction even though the project has been in the works for a while and they’re closing the business down immediately. Some of this could have been over lapped with the ordinary bureaucratic processing time that was short circuited by the speed up rules. Not very important to speed things up when this is a 99 year lifetime project.
The real problem is arranging that additional $75 Million at this point.
I’ve had to attend more services at Cusimano’s, than I would have liked. Including my parents and other family members.
The family and staff have always treated grieving families with nothing but love and respect.
Thank you Cusimano family, and enjoy your new chapter in life.
It’s so funny how stupid this all is! Erecting large buildings raises land values, which pushes up prices in the surrounding area! Every real estate agent and developer knows this. Keep pushing up the prices people, great stuff