Council allocates $600,000 to three affordable-housing projects; adds $3,000 admin appropriation to trust fund

The City Council on June 23 approved staff recommendations — with one increase — to allocate local affordable housing trust funds to three projects that applied under the city’s 2025 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). The final action appropriated $603,000 from the affordable housing in-lieu fee fund (including $3,000 in administrative costs) and authorized funding agreements with the three project sponsors: Abode Housing ($200,000 grant for predevelopment at 519 Fourth Street), Marin Foster Care Association ($250,000 grant for acquisition and transitional-age youth housing at 158–166 A Park Street) and EAH Housing ($150,000 residual receipts loan to rehabilitate Riviera Apartments at 455 Canal Street).

Alexis Kaptanian, the city’s housing manager, explained the scoring process and the projects’ needs. Abode’s proposal would construct 56 mostly one-bedroom units for very low and extremely low income households on city-owned property at 519 Fourth Street; staff recommended a $200,000 predevelopment grant but made that award contingent on Abode securing an additional $600,000 in predevelopment funding to complete planning and entitlement work. "The city has a right to all the reports, designs, and other materials generated during this predevelopment phase," staff noted, so the city can leverage the work if the project does not proceed.

EAH Housing proposed rehabilitation of a 28-unit apartment complex (Riviera Apartments, 455 Canal Street) that serves very low income households. EAH received $700,000 in HOME funds in 2024 and an additional roughly $200,000 in HOME funds from the county this month; staff recommended a $150,000 residual-receipts loan to support urgent seismic, electrical safety and waterproofing work.

The Marin Foster Care Association sought funds to repay bridge financing for its recent acquisition of a six-unit building at Park Street to house transition-age foster youth with wraparound services. Multiple foster parents, nonprofit partners and young adults testified in support, describing the building as move-in ready and already housing some youth. Staff recommended increasing MFCA’s award to $250,000 in response to testimony and to the organization’s focus on a highly vulnerable population.

Council discussed the funding distribution and heard a late-floor offer from John White of Abode Housing Development proposing a different allocation (reduce Abode to $100,000 and increase MFCA to $250,000); staff reported a small, recently received in‑lieu revenue infusion that made it possible to increase the MFCA award while maintaining support for other recommended projects. The council approved the amended package by a 4–0 vote.