Irvine, CA – Jamboree Housing Corporation, a leading developer of affordable housing in California, announced today it is breaking ground on Doria Apartment Homes. Designed for families who earn between 30% to 60% of area median income (AMI), Doria will be the first of several planned rental properties to be developed by Jamboree in joint venture with the Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT). The ICLT has helped lead the charge to establish a permanent source of affordable housing in Irvine, and is the only land trust established by a cooperative municipality in Southern California.
“We strive to create unique solutions that work for the specific needs of our city partners,” said Laura Archuleta, president of Jamboree, one of California’s largest active affordable housing developers. “Doria is the seventh property we have developed in partnership with the City of Irvine and the Irvine Company, and we’re excited that it will be the first rental development for the ICLT.”
She notes another Jamboree first at Doria – the inclusion of 10 homes for residents with special needs. “Moving forward, our goal is to designate at least 10% of the homes at each of our new construction properties to people with special needs. These are folks already living in our community and permanent supportive housing is critical to providing stability for them.”
The City of Irvine shares in Jamboree’s enthusiasm for Doria. “This project moves forward our long- term commitment to provide a full spectrum of housing,” says Sukhee Kang, Mayor of Irvine. “The goal is to triple our inventory of affordable housing to about 9,700 units by 2025. In a jobs-rich city with three jobs for every housing unit, a mix of affordability in our housing is critical to the long-term success of our economy and our community.” In fact, Mayor Kang emphasizes that public-private collaboration with partners such as Jamboree is why Irvine continues to boast the greatest ratio of affordable housing units in Orange County.
The community land trust leased-land model is still a relatively new structure in California, but it is a familiar model to many in Irvine because the University of California Irvine has long used land leases to preserve affordability of faculty/staff housing at its University Hills community on the Irvine campus.
According to Mary Ann Gaido, president of ICLT, Doria is a strategic first step in realizing the land trust’s goal to provide 5,000 new units of permanent affordable housing in the City by 2025. “That equates to the land trust contributing more than 50% of Irvine’s overall affordable housing goal in the next 15 years.”
Since Irvine is well served by existing for-profit and nonprofit affordable housing developers such as Jamboree, the ICLT does not need to serve as a developer, but instead can acquire land and housing units, and focus on long-term affordability and stewardship.
Gaido, an Irvine resident herself for more than four decades, has been a public servant in the City since the 1970s with various positions on the Irvine Planning Commission and City Council. In addition to her role with the ICLT, she presently serves as chair of the Irvine Planning Commission. “Our citizens are educated and they recognize that, as long as we maintain our commitment to high-quality, well-integrated affordable housing, the community needs a broader spectrum of housing resources. That’s the land trust’s commitment to the City and to our residents.”
Known for its resourcefulness with public/private partnerships, Jamboree’s Archuleta points to the financial structure for the Doria development as a premier example of creative financing to fund workforce housing. To complete Doria, a variety of local funding sources are being tapped, including the ICLT, the City of Irvine and the Irvine Redevelopment Agency. Combined, these three entities provide a total of $2 million in loans for the $18 million development. The Irvine Company donated the three-acre site as part of the company’s agreement with the City to provide affordable housing within Irvine’s “northern sphere.“ Other financial partners include the County of Orange, Orange County Health Care Agency, and U.S. Bank.
Another important financial aspect is the extraordinary flexibility demonstrated by the County of Orange as a key funding source. “Jamboree continues to be a great partner, especially in the current economy,” says Bill Campbell, Orange County Supervisor, 3rd District, and chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “Its experience and attention to detail ensures that each property will satisfy the needs of future residents as well as the specific requirements of each development partner. A commitment to successful partnerships is a major reason why Jamboree consistently receives the most County funds of any nonprofit developer in Orange County.”
Located at 1000 Crested Bird, a quarter mile from both the Woodbury Town Center and “The Commons,” Doria is an integral part of the Stonegate Master Plan being developed by the Irvine Company in Northern Irvine.
Doria will feature 60 apartment homes in two- and three-story garden-style buildings designed around a central courtyard. Residents will enjoy full access to a pool, tot lot and 3,000 square-foot community building that includes the management offices, kitchen, a computer lab and a multi-purpose room for resident services to be provided by Jamboree’s Resident Services Group. The Spanish Colonial- style architecture will integrate seamlessly with the aesthetic fabric of the surrounding Stonegate community of Irvine.
It is anticipated that the 60 apartment homes located at Doria are Phase I of a two-phase development which, when complete, will encompass an additional 74 apartment homes.
Each Doria apartment home will be equipped with an ENERGY STAR refrigerator, dishwasher, stove and microwave, and the property will exceed Title 24 energy efficiency standards by approximately 15%. This lowers resident energy consumption, provides a cost-saving benefit to residents and promotes the health of residents – all important components in Jamboree’s commitment to sustainability. Parking will include a combination of tuck-under garages, on-grade spaces and stand-alone garage buildings.
Resident and supportive services will be provided by Jamboree’s Resident Services Group. Offered at more than 38 of its properties, Jamboree’s onsite resident services coordinator will provide resident services – tailored to the specific needs of Doria residents – that foster learning, health, and community building to enrich their quality of life. The inclusion of fully funded, ongoing supportive services will enable the handful of residents with special needs to live in permanent housing with a stable environment. Whatever It Takes (WIT)/CHOICES, the Orange County Healthcare Agency’s Full-Service Partner, will assist residents eligible for services under the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) with 24/7 availability for support of daily living activities and link them to other supportive and independent living services.
KTGY Group, Inc. provided Doria’s architectural design, and Wermers Multi-Family Corporation is serving as the General Contractor. Doria is the first of Jamboree’s six new developments slated for completion this year.
About ICLT: Established in 2006 by the City of Irvine, the Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT) creates permanent affordable home ownership, rental and special needs housing opportunities. It is the city’s key entity to ensure full spectrum housing for residents of all income levels. Doria is ICLT’s first joint venture development with Jamboree and a strategic first step in realizing its goal to provide 5,000 units of permanent affordable housing in the City by 2025. When achieved, this will equate to more than 50% of the City’s vision of 9,700 affordable units by that same year. ICLT is one of Southern California’s first Community Land Trusts (CLT) – and the only one established by a cooperative municipality. The community land trust model balances the interests of individual homeowners and renters with the public interest in the preservation of scarce public resources, providing homeowners with housing security, equity and a legacy to leave their heirs, all at an affordable price and providing renters with a stable and affordable housing opportunity. For more information, go to www.irvineclt.org.
About Jamboree: Founded in 1990, Irvine, CA-headquartered Jamboree Housing Corporation is an award-winning, broad-based nonprofit housing 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 $250 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 6,300 homes in more than 61 California communities. Currently, Housing with HEART programs and services that foster learning, health and community building are offered at 38 Jamboree communities with designated staff at each location. For more information, go to www.jamboreehousing.com.