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Gilroy outlines pilot preservation of below‑market‑rate home, program administrator RFP to follow
Summary
City staff reported the successful purchase, repair and resale of a below‑market‑rate (BMR) senior home under a pilot preservation program (purchase April 2025; resale escrow closed Jan. 12, 2026), described the larger BMR portfolio and administrative challenges, and said the city will issue an RFP for a BMR program administrator before the current contract ends June 30, 2026.
City staff updated the council on the pilot below‑market‑rate (BMR) preservation program and the broader BMR housing portfolio, describing a completed pilot transaction and ongoing administrative challenges.
The pilot, approved March 2025, used short-term loan funding from the Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing to allow the city to exercise a purchase option when a low-income deed-restricted senior home became available in April 2025. Staff completed necessary repairs — including a new roof and flooring — marketed the unit, and closed escrow on Jan. 12, 2026 with the home sold to an income‑qualified senior household using a combination of county and city down‑payment assistance. Staff said the county loan will be repaid in full this month.
Housing and community-services manager Christie Thomas reviewed the larger portfolio: approximately 300 original affordable ownership units across multiple developments with roughly 250 deed-restricted units currently active. The portfolio was inherited from several prior programs and contains widely varied resale restrictions and loan structures, which increases administrative complexity.
Thomas said HouseKeys (the city's program administrator) and staff have expanded outreach and data systems, added informational sessions, and increased prospective‑buyer and renter lists (noting some 3,600 prospective ownership applicants and 1,700 rental applicants). She described challenges including staff turnover, limited housing-trust resources, attrition as units age out of restrictions, and homeowner noncompliance in some cases.
Staff said they will issue an RFP for a BMR program administrator (current contract expires 06/30/2026) and continue partnering with the county to replicate the preservation model when funding opportunities arise.
