Mountain View breaks ground on low-income development

The city of Mountain View, Calif., celebrated the groundbreaking of 819 North Rengstorff Apartments, a development by ROEM Corporation and Eden Housing Inc., in partnership with the City of Mountain View. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday, March 7, 2014.

819 North Rengstorff Apartments will offer 49 workforce studio apartments, including one manager’s unit, available to families with annual incomes at or below 45 percent of the Santa Clara County area median income. This development will provide a sustainable community for its residents while enhancing the existing neighborhood. The building’s contemporary architecture will complement the downtown location and will integrate traditional Mediterranean colors with stucco exterior walls and tile roofing.

“It’s critical that we address the supply of affordable, high quality housing in Mountain View, which is why the city partners with respected developers like Eden Housing and ROEM. We hope new housing developments like this one will broaden the housing options for anyone who wants to live in Mountain View,” said Mayor Chris Clark, city of Mountain View.

The development will consist of a three-story building with approximately 1,640 square feet of commercial space and 41 parking spaces on a surface parking lot. The design will also include 49 bicycle parking spaces. The contemporary design of the building will integrate earth-tone wood and stucco elements. Amenities will include a community room with kitchen, computer room, laundry facilities, and ground- and third-floor patio areas.

“We are thrilled to break ground on our first affordable housing development in Mountain View. The need for affordable housing in Silicon Valley is great, we see the demand at Eden where we have nearly 5,000 households on our waiting lists in the region. Eden believes that partnering with the City and ROEM is an important step to bridge the affordable housing gap in Santa Clara County,” said Linda Mandolini, president, Eden Housing Inc.

This development will be environmentally sensitive, constructed using sustainable building methods and will incorporate a number of green features designed to ensure its long-term energy-efficiency and sustainability. The development will pursue LEED Gold specification. The project will also comply with CALGreen Building Codes.

“In today’s environment, the growth of our communities is dependent on all partners coming together to provide high-quality housing solutions that address the current housing needs in a given region,” said Jonathan Emami, vice president of ROEM Development Corporation. “819 North Rengstorff Apartments is a shining example of all stakeholders, from government organizations to private companies to non-profit organizations, working together to develop a new affordable housing community that is indistinguishable from market-rate housing.”

High-energy efficiency features will be integrated into the design of the project from the conceptual stages and will be designed to exceed Title-24 standard by 22.2 percent. Additionally, 819 North Rengstorff Apartments will benefit from a solar photovoltaic system that will offset the building common area energy load.

The project will have a water efficient irrigation system implemented that meets the city of Mountain View’s water conservation goals. 819 North Rengstorff Apartments will incorporate water efficient landscaping with drought tolerant planting, a naturally filtrating storm water runoff system, and the use of bio-swales for stormwater treatment/quality and retention. On the interior, the building will utilize low flow plumbing fixtures to reduce the amount water wasted in everyday water using activities.

Additionally, the development will focus on the integration of environmentally preferable products by using locally sourced materials as well as recycled materials, which will include recycled content carpet and/or natural flooring/linoleum. Lastly, the project will also be built to divert at least 75 percent of construction waste from landfills by recycling used materials such as wood, metal, drywall, and concrete.

This $18 million development is financed with 9-percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits with financial support from the City of Mountain View and Wells Fargo Community Lending & Investment. The architect is KTGY Group Inc. and the general contractor ROEM Builders Inc.