Envy Apartment

The average market rent for a one- bedroom apartment in San Mateo County is $2,053 per month, according to new rental data released by the San Mateo County Department of Housing. This reflects an 8.2 percent increase from last year. This is devastating news for anyone looking for affordable rental housing and comes on the heels of other unsettling trend data for the county, housing officials said. United Way's 211 referral line for  San Mateo   County  reports taking significantly more calls for housing related services than for any other service. Additionally, according to the county's new Health and Human Services Agency report on homelessness, the county's homeless rate has risen 12 percent since 2011. "People can't afford to live here, and not just people who are poor," said Kate Comfort Harr , Executive Director of HIP Housing, a  San Mateo   County  nonprofit specializing in affordable housing programs including Home Sharing . "Anyone maki...

At the ribbon cutting this month for the Wesley Village affordable housing complex in Garden Grove, Laura Archuleta couldn ’t resist referencing Joni Mitchell ’s 1970 environmental protest “Big Yellow Taxi.” Built on underused land that’s part of the Garden Grove United Methodist Church campus on Main Street, Wesley Village offered Archuleta , president of the nonprofit community organization Jamboree Housing Corp ., a chance to riff on one of Mitchell’s most famous lyrics. Where Mitchell sang “They paved paradise/And put up a parking lot,” Archuleta told about 300 people packed into the steamy church sanctuary on a hot afternoon that “Today we are going to learn how a group of dedicated organizations and individuals re-purposed a parking lot and put up a paradise.” Then she and others who spoke, including a single mom with six children who now reside at Wesley Village , told how the project became reality through a unique collaboration that involved the church, Jamboree and other...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 09 /CSRwire/ - Students who live in affordable, subsidized housing will have the opportunity to pursue their dreams of higher education through a scholarship fund that is receiving a donation of $140,000 from Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco).   Aimco Senior Vice President Patti Shwayder presented the contribution to Denise Muha, Executive Director of the National Leased Housing Association , for the NLHA Education Fund , which provides tuition assistance through the Aimco Cares Opportunity Scholarship and several other award categories.  The check presentation took place last week during the NLHA Fall Seminar at the Washington, D.C. Marriott.     “We are so proud to be helping the amazing young men and women through the Education Fund and the Aimco Cares Opportunity Scholarship .  These talented students come from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, but all share the same goal of earning a college degree,” said Shwayder.  “Our scholars are...

Las Brisas affordable -housing community contains approximately 160 rental units , varying in size and number of bedrooms.</strong>" title="Las Brisas 1" width="400" height="300" class="size-full wp-image-16158" /> Cory Bilicko/Signal Tribune Signal Hill’s Las Brisas affordable -housing community contains approximately 160 rental units , varying in size and number of bedrooms. Nick Diamantides Staff Writer Approximately five years after the completion of the Las Brisas affordable -housing community in Signal Hill, programs offered at the site are still succeeding in improving the lives of the people who live there. The project was developed in two phases under the auspices of Los Angeles- based Abode Communities with funding from the now- defunct Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency , as well as financial assistance from other public and private sector entities . According to Robin Hughes, president of Abode Communities , Las Brisas c...

The Montclair Planning Board finished hearing one application and punted two more into September at its August 14 meeting .  But the application that wrapped up and was subsequently approved was a big leap in the board’s efforts at getting larger projects resolved , as it was local developer Steven Plofker ’s application for a five-story, 11- unit apartment building along North Willow Street that will incorporate the former Diva Lounge on Bloomfield Avenue as modest retail space .  The property is a lot merged several years ago. Holding up a rendering of developer Steven Plofker ’s proposed apartment/retail project for the corner of North Willow Street and Bloomfield Avenue at the August 14 Montclair Planning Board meeting , board member Martin Schwartz asks about possible changes to the details of the design. Professional planner Christine Nazzaro Cafone of the Red Bank- based Cafone Consulting Group testified on behalf of the relevance of the variances being requested, especia...