San Rafael approves funds for affordable housing acquisition

San Rafael has provided $252,000 to nonprofit Canal Alliance to help purchase and maintain an apartment complex for low-income renters.

The City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve the allocation from the city’s affordable housing trust fund. The expenditure is the first the city has granted under a “rolling application process” approved in September that allows organizations to apply for money for affordable housing when a purchase is pending.

The Paloma Apartments at 1400 Lincoln Ave. are a low-rise complex with 17 bedrooms in nine apartments, which are rented at below-market prices.

“This type of naturally occurring affordable housing is most at risk of being converted to market rate,” said Alexis Captanian, the city’s housing manager.

“The project preserves the existing, fully affordable housing in the long term,” said Captanian. “The acquisition prevents the displacement of currently low-income tenants.”

With a $3.12 million purchase pending, Canal Alliance filed its application in September. The nonprofit had $2.4 million in grants, loans and $470,000 in equity.

The nonprofit and the Marin Community Foundation raised an additional $700,000 in “bridging funds” so they could complete the sale while the grant application was pending.

Canal Alliance is also seeking $450,000 from the Marin County Affordable Housing Fund. County supervisors will review the allocation on Tuesday. The prerequisite for this was a subsidy from the city.

“I just have to say how happy I am about this,” Councilwoman Maika Llorens Gulati said. “So grateful for the Canal Alliance and all the funding partners because this is what we need.”

“Sometimes we are limited in what we can build,” Llorens Gulati said. “This is a way to preserve something that already exists.”

With the addition of the nine apartments, Canal Alliance now has 21 apartments available to low-income tenants.

Yolanda Oviedo, senior manager of housing at Canal Alliance, thanked the city for its support. She said the nonprofit has been trying to acquire other properties for the past two years and it finally worked out.

“We hope this is one of many as we plan to expand affordable housing in Marin County for the community we serve,” Oviedo said.

The agency’s housing preservation strategy aims to acquire 100 apartments.