Irvine, CA – Jamboree Housing Corporation, one of California’s leading community development organizations specializing in affordable housing, announced today it is breaking ground on the second phase of Doria Apartment Homes in Irvine on Wednesday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m. Program participants include Irvine Mayor Dr. Steven Choi and Irvine City Council members and staff, representatives from Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT), Orange County Housing and Community Development Commission, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Jamboree executives. Interview and photo opportunities plus a property fact sheet and photos are available.
Designed for families who earn 30% to 60% of area median income (AMI), the second phase of Doria Apartment Homes encompasses 74 apartments and is Jamboree’s second workforce housing development in partnership with the Irvine Community Land Trust. The first phase of Doria has 60 apartments and was completed in late 2011. This was the first rental property to be developed and completed by Jamboree in joint venture with the Irvine Community Land Trust, the only land trust established by a cooperative municipality in Southern California. Phase I was also the first of Jamboree’s family-oriented properties to include 10 homes for residents with special needs.
Continuing in that tradition, Phase II includes 10 homes that will be set aside for residents who receive services through the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), administered by the County of Orange. Construction of the second Doria phase is scheduled for completion by November 2013.
“In the 16 months since the opening of Phase I, Doria has received local, state and national attention with industry awards for creativity in affordable housing design as well as for offering a quality home environment for residents with special needs who can now thrive alongside their neighbors,” said Laura Archuleta, president of Jamboree. “These are folks already living in our community, and the availability of permanent, supportive housing has been critical to providing a stable lifestyle for them.”
The City of Irvine shares in Jamboree’s enthusiasm for Doria, highlighting collaboration between the City, Irvine Community Land Trust, the Irvine Company and developers such as Jamboree in the wake of the demise of redevelopment funding. In fact, public/private collaboration with partners such as Jamboree is why Irvine continues to boast one of the highest ratios of affordable housing units to market-rate housing in Orange County, according to the Orange County Business Council’s 2012 Workforce Housing Scorecard.
The community land trust model is a relatively new structure in California, but it is a familiar model to Irvine because the University of California Irvine (UC Irvine) has long used land leased by the Irvine Company to preserve affordability of faculty/staff housing at its University Hills community on the Irvine campus.
According to Mary Ann Gaido, president and chair of Irvine Community Land Trust, the completion of Doria Phase II is a strategic next 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,” she noted. “This is our first rental project serving working families and is a model of the collaborative process that the City of Irvine has undertaken with private and nonprofit developers as well as with residents.”
Known for its resourcefulness with the use of public/private partnerships, Jamboree’s development of Doria is a premier example of creative financing to fund workforce housing in the post-redevelopment environment, Archuleta said. To complete Doria, a variety of funding sources were tapped. Financing for the $19.9 million development of Phase II consists of $6.3.million in tax credit equity from the Irvine Company; $1.6 million in construction financing from Irvine Community Land Trust; $599,853 in construction and permanent financing from the City of Irvine; $700,000 in construction/permanent financing from the County of Orange; $400,000 Continuum of Care Financing from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; $1.1 million in permanent financing from California Housing Finance Agency (Mental Health Services Act), and $12.9 million in construction and permanent financing from U.S. Bank.
The County continues its goal to integrate special needs housing in both phases at Doria, made possible for Phase II in part by the $1.1 million in Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding and the commitment of 10 Project- Based Housing Choice Vouchers from the Orange County Housing Authority.
Doria Phase II is the third affordable housing project in Orange County to incorporate State MHSA funding towards the County’s goal of creating 185 homes for special needs residents; 19% of these homes have been developed by Jamboree. Jamboree’s successful partnership with the County has delivered much needed quality affordable housing throughout Orange County meeting the needs of residents and the specific demands of each development.
Located at 1000 Crested Bird, a quarter mile from both the Woodbury Town Center and “The Commons,” Doria Apartment Homes is an integral part of the Stonegate planned community being developed by the Irvine Company in Northern Irvine. Phase II features 74 apartment homes in three-story, garden-style buildings designed around a central courtyard. The Spanish Colonial-inspired architecture integrates seamlessly with the aesthetic fabric of the surrounding Stonegate community.
When this last phase of Doria is complete, the development will encompass a total of 134 apartment homes. Residents will have ample space to gather in the existing 3,000-square-foot Doria community center that features both large and small meeting areas, management offices, a kitchen, computer lab, and tot lot. The adjacent community center pool features a handicap lift.
In Jamboree’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, Doria’s Phase II is designed to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified Silver rating. This lowers energy consumption, provides a cost-saving benefit, and promotes the health of residents. The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council 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.
Each Doria home is equipped with an ENERGY STAR refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave and stove, and the property exceeds California’s Title 24 energy efficiency standards by approximately 15%. Parking includes a combination of tuck-under garages, on-grade spaces and stand-alone garage buildings.
Resident services will be provided onsite by Jamboree’s Resident Services Group. Offered at more than 38 of its properties, Jamboree’s onsite resident services coordinator will provide 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. The Orange County Healthcare Agency will assist residents with 24/7 support of daily living activities, job placement assistance, and links to other supportive and independent living services.
KTGY Group, Inc. created Doria’s architectural design. MJS Design Group designed the landscape architecture. Wermers Multi-Family Corporation is serving as the General Contractor.