BUENA PARK, CA – Jamboree Housing Corporation, one of California’s leading community development organizations specializing in affordable housing, announced today the grand opening of Park Landing Apartment Homes, a pioneering multifamily property in Buena Park, CA, that features a 20,000 square-foot green roof over the parking area. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Program participants include State Senator Lou Correa, Buena Park Mayor Beth Swift, County of Orange and Buena Park city officials, U.S. Bank, and Jamboree executives.
Interview and photo opportunities are available.
Located on a long-abandoned commercial site adjacent to a residential neighborhood, Park Landing consists of 70 rental apartment homes for working families who earn between 30% and 60% of the county's area median income. The $22-million multifamily, four-story property was developed on a highly constrained, two-acre urban infill site at 8850 La Palma Avenue.
Although Jamboree has created a wide array of award-winning workforce housing developments throughout California, Park Landing is its first property with a significant green roof feature which covers a 142- space parking area that serves the urban project.
“Park Landing is an exceptional public/private achievement that we believe will pioneer a new generation of sustainable, multifamily development in urban areas by use of a green roof,” said Laura Archuleta, Jamboree president. “In addition to this creative approach to enhance its sustainability, Park Landing will provide a substantial boost to the local workforce housing market.”
Park Landing is designed to achieve the LEED for Homes Gold rating, and is one of three Jamboree properties to be LEED certified in the past two years. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Homes green building rating system is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.
Archuleta noted that the public/private team effort is also a prime example of how workforce housing can combine affordability with sustainability. “A large-scale, sustainable development such as Park Landing would not exist without the long-term, committed support of the Buena Park City Council and its former Redevelopment Agency,” she said.
According to Michael Massie, Jamboree Housing Development Director, the green roof made environmental sense given the constraints of the two-acre site and demands for improved sustainability, especially in urban locations.
“We’re willing to innovate with sustainable concepts such as the green roof and to identify appropriate means to develop quality affordable housing on even the most challenging of sites,” Massie stated. “For Park Landing, the green roof provides a key sustainable solution that made the project possible. As far as we know, this is the first full-sized green roof to be incorporated in a residential property in Orange County or the Inland Empire.”
The green roof will reduce the “heat island” effect generated by the asphalt of an open parking area, and will capture, reduce and filter storm water runoff, key elements in improving the environment, Massie said.
Park Landing residents will benefit from the green roof’s outdoor space and amenities, which includes a patio area, a play area, barbeque/picnic areas and a bocce ball court. The play area features Jamboree’s and one of Orange County’s first Imagination Playground©, a mobile-based play system for outdoor play that consists of lightweight, oversized building blocks that do not require fixed equipment. The blocks allow children to create elaborate structures and reconfigure their play environment and in so doing improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, as well as develop language, communication and problem solving skills while promoting cooperation and the development of social relationships.
Since green roofs help to reclaim green space, they also provide habitat for songbirds, butterflies and a host of other invertebrate species, explained Kevin Newman, CEO of Newman Garrison + Partners Architects, who incorporated the green roof design as part of the firm’s pioneering New Block™ (patent pending) concept.
“The green roof helps promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration so that carbon dioxide is absorbed by green plants,” Newman explained. “The green roof addresses one of today’s biggest design issues for a dense urban environment – providing enough open space to meet most cities' infill development requirements, which New Block™ does.”
To receive tax credit allocation funding under California’s Title 24 energy conservation regulation, the property’s energy efficiency must exceed 15%. Park Landing exceeds Title 24 standards by 21%, according to Massie. Newman noted that the Park Landing development site and green roof will also incorporate efficient landscape irrigation and drought-tolerant plant materials, making the landscape palette 25% more efficient than traditional landscape. A detailed Green Features Fact Sheet is available upon request.
Park Landing features six one-bedroom, 41 two-bedroom, and 23 three-bedroom floor plans, each equipped with ENERGY STAR appliances, tankless water heaters, low-flow restrictors and other sustainable features designed to reduce utility costs for residents. The apartment homes offer open floor plans, including energy efficient kitchens with islands, generous walk-in closets, private outdoor living areas, and easy access to elevators and stairs. Corner apartments feature welcoming entrances that flow into spacious living areas with distinctive master-bedroom suites. The interior design of Park Landing also introduces many upscale elements that make each apartment a comfortable, unique and inviting home. Buena Park City Manager James Vanderpool points out that the city’s timely approval to develop Park Landing occurred prior to the demise of redevelopment, allowing the city to invest $6.6 million of its redevelopment funds in the property’s construction. “If approval would have been delayed for any length of time, Park Landing most likely would not have happened,” he noted. Vanderpool also saluted the City of Anaheim, which worked in concert with Buena Park to allow water and sewer utilities to run through Anaheim’s borders to connect to Park Landing.
Other financing consisted of 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee purchased for $7.5 million by WNC & Associates, the equity investor, and a $3.25 million construction loan from U. S. Bank. Additional funding sources included the California Department of Housing & Community Development Multifamily Housing Program (MHP) with $4.8 million. Jamboree purchased the land from the Buena Park Redevelopment Agency for $3.6 million.
“In many respects, this property is a great example of an effective public/private partnership,” says Vanderpool. “Working in partnership with Jamboree, as well as with the City of Anaheim, the development of Park Landing resulted in the elimination of a blighted site, the creation of high quality workforce housing homes for Buena Park families, and the advancement of environmental improvement for our city, county, and state.”
Located on a major boulevard near shopping, job centers and public services, Park Landing offers resident amenities such as a community center with a fitness room, tutoring and computer lab, kitchen and laundry facilities. It is also adjacent to two major bus lines that provide 185 rides to major work centers in Orange County and downtown Los Angeles. Park Landing is served by the Magnolia School District – five elementary and secondary schools are within 1.5 miles of the property. Fullerton, Santa Ana and Coastline Community Colleges are within about 10 miles of the property.
In its commitment to build healthy communities that provide opportunities and resources for residents to enhance their quality of life, Jamboree’s Resident Services Group, Housing with Heart, provides free onsite resident services and programs tailored to meet the unique needs of Park Landing’s families. These site-specific programs – tailored and led by an onsite community manager – will foster learning, health, and community involvement to enrich their daily living.
Studies such as the one conducted by the Center for Housing Policy have found that quality after-school programs that focus on the health and academic achievement of youth can have a positive impact on children’s formal educational advancement by increasing school attendance, enhancing work habits, and strengthening task persistence.
“A growing body of research suggests that stable, affordable housing may provide children with enhanced opportunities for educational success,” says Buena Park Mayor Beth Swift, who has a doctorate in education and is a former high school teacher and school board member. “While schools and teachers bear principal responsibility for children’s formal education, research shows that a supportive and stable home environment can complement the efforts of educators, leading to higher student achievement.”
The Collaborative West is the landscape architect of Park Landing and SBI Builders is the general contractor. The John Stewart Company provides onsite property management.
A Park Landing Property Fact Sheet is available upon request.