Construction

Affordable Housing for Bay Area School Employees Coming in 2022

A $77 million project currently underway will provide affordable housing options for school employees who work for the Alameda school district, reports the East Bay Times. The project is a partnership between the school district and the city’s Housing Authority.

People who live or work in Alameda will get preference for units in the new 78-apartment building, Sylvia Martinez, the Housing Authority’s director of housing development told the newspaper. But Alameda school district employees will be prioritized for 20 apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units.

School district employees who earn 20% to 80% of the Bay Area’s median income will be eligible to apply to live in the apartments — that’s between $17,950 -$71,700 for a single person and between $25,600-$102,500 for a family of four.

A recent survey of 523 Alameda school district employees found that nearly 20% of respondents were considering leaving the district because the cost of housing. Almost 50% of renters who took the survey pay more than 30% of their household income on rent, while 45% of renters said they do not live in Alameda, with 80% saying the cost was the primary reason.

The project began in August 2020 and the building will be completed in mid-2022.