Scotts Valley Opposes, State Approves: $40M Awarded for 100% Affordable Housing Project
4575 Scotts Valley Drive Render, late 2024
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100% affordable project 4575 Scotts Valley Drive faced concern from the city but ranked #1 by The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Rural Set Aside.
Scotts Valley, CA – December 12, 2024 – The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC), chaired by the state treasurer, Fiona Ma, awarded over $40 million in state and federal tax credits for the creation of 100 units of affordable housing to be located at 4575 Scotts Valley Drive.
Led by co-developers Workbench and CRP Affordable Housing and Development, this project is the first ministerial entitlement approval development (utilizing a new bill, AB 2011) to receive an allocation of tax credits in California.
At the Tax Credit Committee hearing where the award was given, Tim Gordin (President of Workbench), Vig Klamath (Development Manager of CRP Affordable Housing and Community Development LLC), CRP’s attorney (Russell Morse at Meyers Nave), the Carpenters Union, and a representative of Santa Cruz YIMBY all spoke in favor of the development. Representatives from the City of Scotts Valley spoke in opposition saying they didn’t want the project to proceed while also stating their support of affordable housing, but not on the specific site. The Committee reminded Scotts Valley that the purpose of the ministerial process is to remove local government’s ability to arbitrarily block affordable housing projects.
The director of Housing and Community Development (HCD), Gustavo Velasquez encouraged developers to reach out to HCD if local jurisdictions try to disapprove projects or put up roadblocks that prevent the creation of affordable housing. He also reminded Scotts Valley that streamlining bills are critical to addressing housing shortfalls in the state, and that having an approved housing element does not relieve jurisdictions from diligently working to create more affordable housing.
“This should be a moment of celebration. This is a significantly underused commercial property in a county that desperately needs every bit of housing it can get. This is an applicant using a piece of legislation that is cutting through the very roadblocks that it was designed to cut through. 100 units of 100% affordable housing built with strong labor standards and healthcare for workers can never be ‘getting off on the wrong foot,’” said Anthony Carrol representing the NorCal Carpenters Union.
The 100-home project will be Scotts Valley’s first 100% Affordable housing development in 23 years. It consists of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes for households earning between 30%-70% of Area Median Income (AMI). The design includes a community room, offices for property management and resident services, and tot lot for residents’ use. It will be an all-electric construction project with solar panels to offset energy use for common areas.
To make this development possible development partners Workbench and CRP used AB 2011 which allows for the streamlined development of housing on commercial corridors. This is the first development to receive an allocation of tax credits that uses the AB 2011 streamlining law, it is also the first project in Santa Cruz County to use this legislation. The project ranked #1 in the Rural Set Aside the for a low-income housing tax credit financing by CDLAC and TCAC. Forty project-based vouchers were previously allocated to the project by the Santa Cruz Housing Authority.
“Thank you for your support. Workbench uses state housing laws on 100% of our projects because we must. Local land use policies do not do enough to progress housing. This project is a major milestone for us, our community, and the State! I am very proud of our team and all their hard work,” said Tim Gordin founding partner at Workbench.
Workbench also received a letter from the City of Scotts Valley deeming the project complete and compliant with the City's Multi-Unit Objective Design Standards, State Density Bonus Law, AB2011, and all departments.
The development is expected to break ground in the summer of 2025.
For more information about this project, please visit:
4575 Scotts Valley Project Page
CRP Affordable Housing and Development
CTCAC Website
Solving For Housing & Community
Workbench is proud to be a leader in creating high quality homes to help build sustainable communities. For questions about this press release reach out at hello@workbenchbuilt.com.