Eden Housing outlines services and financing for proposed San Ramon developments

Eden Housing gave an informational presentation to the San Ramon City Council on Nov. 12 about its model for affordable housing developments and resident services, describing its portfolio, financing methods and on‑site programs.

Dixie Baus of Eden Housing told the council the nonprofit, founded in 1968 and based in Hayward, develops and manages projects across the state and seeks to expand in Contra Costa County. "Home is where your start is," Baus said, summarizing the organization's mission to combine affordable units with resident services.

Darnell Williams, who oversees property management and resident services for Eden Housing, described the organization's operations and move‑in approach. He said Eden's teams aim to move residents into new properties quickly — "on average less than 30 days," and that the most recent building moved about 100 people in under two weeks. Williams described resident services including financial coaching, a match savings program (Eden Savers) and scholarship awards, and said roughly 6,000 residents currently participate in service programs across the portfolio.

Council members asked specific questions about programs proposed for San Ramon. Baus confirmed the Orchards project will include an on‑site daycare center and said Eden often arranges commercial leases so Head Start or similar providers can operate on site; Eden's in‑house after‑school programs are limited to residents because tax‑credit financing requires it. On typical daycare hours Eden said providers generally operate about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Members also pressed for income eligibility examples. Baus mapped incomes in a half‑mile radius of the proposed Camino Ramon site and said the units will serve households across a range of area median income (AMI) levels. She noted an illustrative one‑person household qualifying at 50% AMI could earn up to about $55,009.50, while an 80% AMI one‑person limit was roughly $87,500; a 3‑bedroom for five people might cap near $135,100 (annual figures that change annually with HUD data).

On financing, Eden said it relies mainly on low‑income housing tax credits and a range of state and local gap programs. Darnell Williams described Capital Magnet Fund awards the organization received — roughly $9.5 million on an earlier NOFA and about $10 million on a subsequent award — and said those sponsor‑level grants sit on the balance sheet and are deployed to help cover predevelopment costs (Eden estimated predevelopment expenses often run about $2.5 million per deal and are later reimbursed from development fees).

Williams and Baus described compliance practices: units are recertified annually to verify incomes and occupancy requirements, property management and resident services coordinate on intervention before eviction, and temporary certificates of occupancy (TCO) are required before move‑ins.

Mayor Armstrong and council members thanked Eden Housing for the briefing and emphasized the presentation was informational only; no land‑use or financing approvals were made at the meeting. Eden said it will return with updates as projects progress.