Crews this week were busy raising the first floor framework on what arguably qualifies as a “perfect” location for affordable apartments in Manteca.
The 100-unit endeavor is within an average two block walking distance of:
*A Save Mart supermarket.
*A neighborhood market/restaurant
*Two convenience stores.
*Two shipping outlets for those all-important online shopping returns.
*Bank of America ATMs.
*Two pharmacies.
*A coffee shop
*Four sit-down restaurants
*A health club gym.
*Two fast food options.
*A hair styling business.
*Gas station, tire store, and oil change business.
*Two Manteca Transit bus stops.
*And more.
The new apartment complex is being built with financing from a $40 million revenue bond secured by Bold Communities with the blessing of the Manteca City Council. A public agency needs to sign off but isn’t encumbered by such a project.
It’s dubbed Los Robles Apartments. There is an interest list that can be accessed at boldcommunitues.org for the rent restricted units.
It is a bit hard to see the work in progress because the construction site is tucked away behind commercial along the west side of the 1100 and 1200 blocks of North Main Street and surrounded in the other three sides by the backyard fences of a single family homes.
It is accessed via a driveway that connects with the Lancaster Drive traffic signals that also serves a Chevron station/convenience store, Indian market/restaurant, and a shipping store.
"It’s the perfect place for an affordable housing project,” noted Jose Nuno who served six years on the Manteca City Council after a stint on the Manteca Planning Commission.
Nuno should know.
Before opening a consulting business, Nuno worked for 17 years for a non-profit affordable housing firm based and managed a $150 million portfolio of Central Valley holdings.
The location checks all of the desired walk ability and access boxes and then some.
It is also is the proverbial ideal infill project.
Not only was it a large, undeveloped parcel surrounded by developed property, but it was also a problematic parcel for the city.
Before it was torn down before the pandemic, there was a large abandoned corrugated-metal shop building that was a magnet for the homeless. The parcel also saw its share of illegal dumping.
There are a number of other apartment complexes in the development pipeline either with entitlements or being vetted.
They represent more than 2,500 living units with under 400 being classified as affordable which means rents would be subsidized in one form or other.
Apartment financing even at-market units can be challenging especially given the capital that is tied up all at once.
But as Nuno, who has built affordable complexes from the ground up, the subsidized genre involves multiple financing sources such cities/counties, the state, the federal government, and the private sector primarily through tax credits and tax-free bind investment.
All funding sources have to align.
As such, changes in market conditions, funding rules, or the money situation of one of the four groups of lenders can force a need to rework financial strategies that end up making the gestation period for rent-restricted complexes longer than for at-market projects.
Nuno notes the Los Robles project also benefited from a traffic signal already being in place, eliminating what could have been a $1 million add on cost for infrastructure.
There is another near perfect location that is on the city’s development list, according to Nuno.
That is the proposed 5-story, 42 unit senior apartment complex envisioned for the northeast corner of Yosemite and Sycamore avenues in downtown.
It also has a robust list of stores and services within easy walking distance.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
