Senior Housing: Google invests in Mid-Pen housing
by J.K.Dineen for San Francisco Business Times
Foster City-based Mid-Peninsula Housing started construction today on Fair Oaks Plaza, a $37.6 million senior housing development in Sunnyvale that is being partly bankrolled through an investment by Google.
The project at 660 S. Fair Oaks Ave. will consist of 124 affordable rental homes for low and very low-income seniors. The development was funded through a wide range of public and private funding sources including Google, which invested $19 million through the purchase of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
The tax credits are being syndicated and managed by Union Bank. Fair Oaks Plaza is located eight miles from Google’s headquarters.
The project marks Google’s first investment in affordable housing.
“Google recognizes the challenges associated with developing affordable housing in California and is proud to help meet this need by providing financing for some of the region’s developers,” said Brent Callinicos, Vice President and Treasurer of Google.
The development is expected to open in summer 2011.
The community will offer a full range of services and is located next to a County medical clinic. It is within a half mile of the Sunnyvale Senior Center, grocery stores, a pharmacy, a public park and multiple bus lines. Amenities include a landscaped courtyards, a fitness center and a community center with a computer lab, a lounge and a kitchen.
“Mid-Pen is proud to be the recipient of Google’s first investment in affordable housing.” said Matthew Franklin, president of Mid-Peninsula Housing. “We were founded by David Packard and other Silicon Valley pioneers forty years ago. We are grateful that today’s leading entrepreneurs like Google continue to support our work and we applaud their vision to invest in their region by financing high-quality affordable housing like Fair Oaks Plaza.”
Additional financing for the $37.6 million development was provided by the City of Sunnyvale, Housing Authority of Santa Clara County, California Department of Housing and Community Development, County of Santa Clara Department of Mental Health, CalHFA –Mental Health Services Act and Federal Stimulus Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
[sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com]
