Funding has been approved by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for a new housing development in Palo Alto that will be dedicated entirely to teachers. The development will be constructed at 231 Grant Avenue at the intersection of Birch Street, directly across the street from the Palo Alto Courthouse and just a few blocks south of the California Avenue Caltrain Station. The 1.5-acre property is currently home to a large office building that will soon be torn down to make way for the educator workforce housing.
Map Credit: Van Meter Williams Pollack
SFYimby reports that Mercy Housing and Abode Communities are working together to “construct a new four-story facility, totaling approximately 112,000 square feet with 110 affordable rental units.” 2,000 square feet would be dedicated to community spaces like a lounge, an activity room, and a laundry facility. There would also be an attached 112-car parking garage along with space for more than 130 bicycles. There will also be 1,200 square feet of retail or commercial space on the ground floor.
Rendering Credit: Van Meter Williams Pollack
Renderings from San Francisco firm Van Meter Williams Pollack show a trendy, modern architecture style with a dark-colored ground floor contrasting with lighter colored upper floors.
Rendering Credit: Van Meter Williams Pollack
The building was proposed roughly four years ago and had an initial cost of $62 million. The price tag has since jumped to $87 million thanks to soaring construction costs. “We were all hoping that 18 months ago, costs would flatten or decline, but with supply chain and commodities, we’re seeing 8 to 12 percent inflation in the construction world. We would love to be bringing this project in with lower costs. It is just the state of affairs in Northern California,” president of Mercy Housing Doug Shoemaker told the Mercury News in a report last month.
Santa Clara County recently approved $21 million in funding for the project and Meta is kicking in another $25 million as part of the company’s initiative to ease the burden of the Bay Area housing crisis. The rest of the funds will apparently come from local school districts and the city of Palo Alto. Units at 231 Grant are expected to be sold for $792,000. They will be offered to teachers in both Santa Clara and San Mateo counties who “can’t qualify for low-income subsidies but cannot afford the area’s expensive rents,” reports the Mercury News.
The project is similar to a housing project for teachers that recently got the green light in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset district, as reported by Hoodline last month. 135 units of housing specifically for teachers are set to rise at the site of a temporary community park on 43rd Avenue, which is on land owned by the city and formerly occupied by SF Unified School District.
As for the Palo Alto development, construction on 231 Grant is set to start later this fall with the hopes of having teachers move in sometime in 2024.
