BERKELEY, CA, July 7, 2020—The Berkeley community will celebrate the construction start of the Hope Center and Berkeley Way Apartments at a virtual groundbreaking today at 11 am. The developments are a partnership between Berkeley Food & Housing Project, a leading agency that provides care to Berkeley’s homeless, special needs and extremely low-income populations, and BRIDGE Housing, a top nonprofit developer, owner and manager of affordable housing.
Located in the heart of downtown Berkeley, the site includes two side-by-side developments: BRIDGE’s Berkeley Way Apartments with 89 affordable homes and services for low- and very low- income families; and the Hope Center, with 53 permanent supportive housing apartments, a 32-bed homeless shelter, 12 transitional beds for homeless veterans, a community kitchen and wrap-around services for mental health, substance abuse, job training and social activities.
“I am excited to be moving forward on the largest affordable housing development in Berkeley’s history,” said Mayor Jesse Arreguín. “Berkeley Way is a reflection of our commitment to addressing our homeless and housing crisis, and I am proud to be working with BFHP and BRIDGE in making this a reality.”
“I am pleased to see the Berkeley Way projects be able to break ground and take a critical step towards becoming a reality,” said Supervisor Keith Carson, Alameda County District 5. “In working with partners like Berkeley Food & Housing Project, we can see firsthand how the Alameda County Affordable Housing Bond Measure A1 funds are being used to directly address the need for extremely low-income housing, mental health services, and building connections to community.”
“Berkeley Food & Housing Project is grateful to our partners BRIDGE Housing, the City of Berkeley, Alameda County and all of our stakeholders for the support, collaboration and hard work in making a longtime vision a reality, said Calleene Egan, Executive Director of Berkeley Food & Housing Project. “Berkeley Way is going to bring much needed shelter, housing and wrap around services to people experiencing homelessness in our community.”
“We’re proud to be part of this collaborative effort to bring a range of housing and service solutions to Berkeley,” said Cynthia A. Parker, President and CEO of BRIDGE Housing. “In addition, the community will benefit from the development’s sustainable infrastructure works such as pedestrian and cycle improvements and a new zero-emissions bus.”
Financial partners for both developments include the City of Berkeley, Berkeley Housing Authority, Alameda County, California Department of Housing and Community Development, National Equity Fund, Merritt Community Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, and donations from members of the Berkeley community. Additional funding for the Hope Center is being provided by Citi Community Development/LISC-NEF’s Bring Them Homes initiative. Additional financial partners for Berkeley Way Apartments include PGIM, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.
The architect is Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, and the general contractor is Nibbi Brothers General Contractors.
To learn more about the development, please visit www.bfhp.org/berkeley-way. For more information about Berkeley Food & Housing Project, visit www.bfhp.org. And to learn about BRIDGE Housing, visit www.bridgehousing.com.
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ABOUT BERKELEY FOOD & HOUSING PROJECT
Since 1970, Berkeley Food & Housing Project has been a provider of homeless services. Our mission is to ease and end the crisis of homelessness in our communities. We believe that everyone has a basic right to food, housing and stability, and we work one-on-one with our clients to help them move toward independence and into safe and affordable housing as quickly as possible. For more information, visit www.bfhp.org.
ABOUT BRIDGE HOUSING
BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a leading nonprofit developer and owner of affordable housing, creates and manages a range of high-quality, affordable homes for working families and seniors. Since it was founded in 1983, BRIDGE has participated in the development of more than 18,000 homes. For more information, visit www.bridgehousing.com.