A vacant 13.6-acre lot along Redwood Boulevard near Highway 101 in Novato could soon become the largest affordable homeownership community ever built in Marin County. Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco plans to construct 50 single-family homes on the site, a project the nonprofit says could house more than 200 people once complete.
The land at 8161 Redwood Boulevard was donated to Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, according to Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. As reported by CBS News San Francisco, the organization is aiming to begin construction in early 2028. The site sits directly adjacent to the former U.S. headquarters of Birkenstock and lies roughly one mile north of the San Marin train station on the SMART rail line.
The project's design has shifted considerably since it was first proposed. State environmental filings show that initial plans submitted to the City of Novato back in 2021 called for up to 80 affordable units spread across 23 buildings in a denser, multi-family layout. Habitat submitted updated plans in July, refocusing the development on the current 50 single-family homes.
How the Homeownership Model Works
Habitat homes are not given away. Buyers must qualify financially, make ongoing mortgage payments, and contribute hundreds of hours of sweat equity during construction. Homeowners typically cover 50% of the cost of their home through those mortgage payments, with the remaining costs supported by philanthropy and government funding, per the same CBS report. Habitat families typically contribute about 500 hours helping build both their own homes and their future neighbors' homes.
Andie Rounds knows that process firsthand. She purchased one of 10 single-family homes Habitat built at Mount Burdell in 2016, homes that were built for households earning between 50% and 80% of area median income. Rounds, a full-time night nurse, said her children have a home to come back to, and that owning it gives them a stable place to grow up.
Demand for that earlier Mount Burdell project was intense — Habitat received more than 200 applications for just 10 homes there. The nonprofit has seen similarly steep interest elsewhere in Marin: it received about 100 applications for eight homes it is building in Bolinas.
A County Where Median Home Prices Top $1.6 Million
The urgency behind the Redwood Boulevard project is rooted in Marin County's affordability crisis. The county's median home sale price exceeded $1.6 million as of July, nearly double the median across the rest of California, while Novato's overall housing expenses ran 82% above the national average, according to Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. Projected purchase prices for low-income units in the Redwood Boulevard development would range between $467,063 and $689,554, with buyers selected through a lottery system, per the County of Marin.
Maureen Sedonaen, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, said investing in affordable homeownership changes the narrative for families. The organization operates as a developer, builder and mortgage lender, a structure that lets it manage projects from land acquisition through the eventual sale of finished homes to qualified buyers.
Novato Is Far Behind on State Housing Targets
The push for more affordable units comes as Novato faces mounting pressure from state housing mandates. Under California's 6th cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the city is required to plan for nearly 2,100 new homes between 2023 and 2031, including 570 units designated for very-low-income households and 328 for low-income households, according to the City of Novato.
So far, the city has permitted only 141 housing units three years into the current cycle — including 15 units permitted in 2025 alone — a pace that amounts to less than 7% of its state-mandated allocation, per the CBS report. Marin County's Housing Trust Fund has already backed the Redwood Boulevard effort with a $5,239,098 loan approved last year to help cover predevelopment and construction costs on a project with an estimated overall cost of $84.47 million, according to the County of Marin.
The approved master plan for the site also includes community features beyond housing: an amphitheater, dog park, community garden, and walking trails, along with a separate 2,154-square-foot commercial building intended to house Habitat's regional office space, according to San Francisco YIMBY. The vacant lot sits near other recent local housing efforts, including Puett Place, the 24-unit supportive housing community for unhoused veterans that opened in Novato in July 2024.
