Jamboree Begins Development of Birch Hills Apartment Homes, The Newest Workforce Housing Community

Brea, CA – Jamboree Housing Corporation, one of California’s leading community development organizations specializing in affordable housing, announced today it has begun development of Birch Hills Apartment Homes, a new workforce housing community in Brea, CA. Adjacent to the Birch Hills Golf Course, the new apartment development will provide housing for families who earn between 30% and 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) with rents ranging from $502 to $1,427 per month based on family size and income level.

Birch Hills Apartment Homes will consist of 115 garden-style apartment homes and is part of the La Floresta planned community currently under development by Birch/Kraemer LLC. When complete, the property will incorporate eight three-story buildings and a recreation building, all arranged around central courtyards that are linked by tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly landscaped walks.

The Spanish-influenced neighborhood will include 22 one-bedroom, 47 two-bedroom, and 46 three- bedroom apartments and will feature tuck-under garages for each apartment along with additional surface parking areas for residents and guests. Completion is slated for September 2013.

"The City of Brea is once again pleased to partner with Jamboree to bring an attractive, well-planned, sustainable housing development to a new master development community in our city,” says Mayor Don Schweitzer. “The master developer of La Floresta, Birch/Kraemer LLC, has shown community leadership by embracing the Jamboree workforce housing development as an integral part to housing choices in La Floresta and the City of Brea."

Birch Hills Apartment Homes is the second workforce housing development built by Jamboree in Brea. Earlier this year, the company completed its Bonterra Apartment Homes featuring 94 garden-style apartments that also provide workforce housing for families who earn between 30% and 60% AMI.

Offering an array of community features, Birch Hills Apartment Homes will include a 4,400 square- foot community recreation center with conference, activity and media rooms, a community kitchen, computer lab and tutoring space, property management and resident services offices. Outdoor amenities will include a pool, spa, barbecue areas, tot lots, and a community garden, as well as landscaped community spaces for outdoor recreation. The nearby La Floresta community will offer several green belts and trails for residents  to use.

Birch Hills Apartment Homes is also ideally situated for future residents with its location near major retail, entertainment, schools, parks, community services, and robust employment centers. Additionally, residents will have the benefit of the expansive green space and natural amenities that are part of the adjacent 18-hole executive golf course.

“This new property is an important public/private milestone for both the City of Brea and Jamboree because it marks the first time that we have built two workforce housing developments in the same municipality within a period of two years,” says Laura Archuleta, president of Jamboree. “These two developments not only underscore the value that the City of Brea places on workforce housing, but they also emphasize the demand for this type of affordable housing in Brea and all of Orange County.”

In keeping with Jamboree’s commitment to sustainability and the City’s to comprehensive energy conservation of “Green Life, Green Brea,” Birch Hills Apartment Homes is designed to be LEED Platinum certified – the highest LEED rating – that will offer a significant level of energy efficiency and cost savings. The property’s advanced sustainable footprint includes photovoltaic (solar) panels to power common areas and heat water in common areas (pool and laundry); optimum water efficiency including low-flow kitchen and bathroom faucets; dual-flush toilets; tankless water heaters; energy efficient lighting, and ENERGY STAR appliances in each home, helping to reduce residents’ utility bills. The property will also have efficient landscape irrigation and native, drought tolerant plantings.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Michael Massie, Jamboree’s housing development director, points out that Birch Hills Apartment Homes will be the second workforce housing property developed by Jamboree designed to be LEED Platinum. The company’s Courier Place transit-oriented apartment development in Claremont, CA, was certified LEED Platinum this summer.

Financing for the $26.2 million development of Birch Hills Apartment Homes consists of $4.75 million in redevelopment funds as well as donated land for the 5.8-acre project site from the City of Brea; $2 million in HOME Funds from the County of Orange; $11.15 million in low income housing tax credit equity invested by Union Bank through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC), as well as $17.94 million in construction financing and $7.9 million in permanent financing from Union Bank.

Jamboree’s Resident Services Group, Housing with Heart, complements Jamboree’s belief in creating strong communities that provide opportunities and resources for residents to enrich the quality of family life. Resident services will be specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of Birch Hills residents. These programs will include activities such as homework assistance and tutoring for young people, plus health and wellness programs and community-building activities for all residents. An onsite program coordinator assists residents in accessing local community services.

KTGY Group, Inc. of Irvine, CA is the architect of Jamboree’s new neighborhood and Portrait Homes of Corona, CA is the general contractor. Property management will be provided by The John Stewart Company.

Birch Hills Property Fact Sheet available upon request.

About Jamboree: Founded in 1990, Irvine, CA-headquartered Jamboree Housing Corporation is an award-winning, nonprofit community development company that develops, acquires, renovates and manages permanently affordable rental and ownership housing throughout California for working families, seniors and people with special needs. HOMES, Inc. and Housing with HEART are 501(c)(3) organizations and comprise Jamboree’s Resident Services Group. A leading nonprofit developer, Jamboree is committed to sustaining excellence with high quality affordable housing that is good for the environment, the economy and local communities. It currently has about $155 million in affordable housing projects in its development pipeline and a $1 billion asset portfolio that includes the development of and/or ownership interest in more than 6,700 homes in more than 67 California communities. Currently, Housing with HEART programs and services that foster learning, health and community building are offered at 39 Jamboree communities with designated staff at each location. For more information, go to www.jamboreehousing.com.

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