HEART has purchased a 74-unit apartment building two blocks from the Hayward Park Caltrain station to house teachers, paraeducators, counselors and other school staff who have been priced out of the communities where they work. The acquisition is for below-market educator housing, with current tenants allowed to stay in place as units gradually convert over time.
The property, known as the Azara Apartments at 1650 S. Delaware Street, sold for $54.75 million, or roughly $739,865 per unit, according to The Registry. The luxury complex, built in 2021, is two blocks from Hayward Park Caltrain station. As reported by NBC Bay Area, the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County, known as HEART, purchased the property while the county office of education provided loan financing and HEART issued bonds to help cover the cost.
Existing residents will not be displaced. Instead, units will be offered to eligible county office employees and school district staff at below-market rates as they naturally become available, with HEART expecting the building to be fully occupied by San Mateo County educators within a decade, per the same report.
Why the County Turned to Housing Costs Head-On
San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Marco Chávez said high regional housing costs prevent many school employees from living near their workplaces, prompting the office to structure the acquisition through a dedicated facilities fund loan alongside HEART's bonds, according to Patch. HEART executive director Armando Sanchez said the trust is committed to creative solutions for the community's affordable housing needs and is proud to partner with the county office, per NBC Bay Area.
The wage gap driving these efforts is well documented. A 2019 report by the Council of Community Housing Organizations found that public school teachers in San Mateo and San Francisco counties would need to earn roughly 1.5 times their average salary to afford market-rate rent on a standard one-bedroom apartment, as reported by K-12 Dive. Many educators at the higher end of the profession's income range are caught between low-income eligibility and market rents, the outlet noted.
A Different Approach Than Ground-Up Construction
Other San Mateo County education agencies have pursued workforce housing through new construction rather than acquisition. Jefferson Union High School District opened 705 Serramonte in Daly City in May 2022, a $75.5 million, 122-unit complex funded partly by a $33 million voter-approved local bond measure, according to Affordable Housing Finance. That project was reportedly the first in California to use local voter-approved school bonds for employee housing.
The Legal Framework Behind Educator Housing
State law underpins these efforts. The Teacher Housing Act of 2016, authored by then-state Sen. Mark Leno, established a legal mechanism for school-district housing programs, according to Justia.
HEART's purchase of Azara adds an existing, fully built property to its work addressing affordable housing needs in San Mateo County.
