Martis Valley workforce housing, sustainable transportation project nets $16M grant

Published on June 29, 2018

The Meadow View Place workforce housing development in Martis Valley will get a $16.25 million boost from California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, program managers announced today.

The project is one of just 19 statewide approved for a grant this year by the state’s Strategic Growth Council, and will be funded by proceeds from the Cap-and-Trade greenhouse gas auction.

Meadow View Place will provide 56 apartments to satisfy the nearby Schaffer’s Mill development’s workforce housing obligation. 

“This highly competitive award was only possible because of timely commitments made by local public and private entities,” said Luke Watkins of Neighborhood Partners LLC, the project’s developer. “Schaffer’s Mill donated the site, Placer County and the Town of Truckee committed key transportation matching funds and the Mountain Housing Council was instrumental in bringing together support from regional partners that needed to work quickly to meet the application deadline.”

“This is proof that when Mountain Housing Council partners work together towards the goal of housing more people and building a better community, we are capable of doing so much more than any one entity can alone,” said Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation Chief Executive Officer Stacy Caldwell. “We know the momentum of this win will carry us forward and inspire more creative and collaborative financing, development and unlocking of housing.”

The Placer County Board of Supervisors in January approved an agreement with Neighborhood Partners to support the grant application.

“This is phenomenal news for eastern Placer County,” said District 5 Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery. “There’s no question that our housing challenges are daunting. But this proves that our regional partnerships are succeeding at getting housing built for our workforce and making sustainability improvements that will leave our communities healthier and stronger for years to come.”

Under the agreement the county will use $3.5 million of the funding to purchase four electric-powered buses to help expand transit services on Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit routes including the necessary electric vehicle-charging and maintenance infrastructure.

Other mobility improvements would also be funded, with $726,000 earmarked to build a portion of the Martis Valley multi-purpose trail and $1.5 million for transit and pedestrian facilities in Truckee. The balance would be used to provide gap financing for construction of the housing project.

“Truckee is very pleased to be part of this creative public-private partnership, and most appreciative of the state’s sustainability program,” said Truckee Town Manager Jeff Loux. “We are, of course, excited about the prospects of adding $1 million for our Multi-Modal Transit Center and $500,000 for pedestrian improvements along West River Street, but equally pleased with new affordable housing moving forward in the region.”

Construction could start as early as 2019, pending efforts to secure remaining needed funding.

The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program provides competitive grants and loans to projects that will achieve greenhouse gas reductions and benefit disadvantaged communities through the development of affordable housing and related infrastructure and transit improvements.