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MidPen Housing seeks funding for 332 apartments on Alameda Point

Two-phase project would include four affordable complexes for families and veterans

A photo illustration of MidPen Housing CEO Matthew Franklin along with RESHAP, Pan Am Way and West Midway Avenue in Alameda (Getty, Midpen Housing)
A photo illustration of MidPen Housing CEO Matthew Franklin along with RESHAP, Pan Am Way and West Midway Avenue in Alameda (Getty, Midpen Housing)

MidPen Housing could soon break ground for 332 affordable apartments at the former naval air station at Alameda Point. All it needs is money.

The Foster City-based affordable housing developer led by Matthew Franklin seeks financing for the double-phase project on 8 acres of city land at Pan Am Way and West Midway Avenue, in Alameda, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The project, known as RESHAP, is co-developed by Alameda Point Collaborative at the former 1,000-acre Alameda Naval Air Station. Catellus Development is providing infrastructure.

Plans for the first phase call for two apartment buildings totaling 78 and 85 units. A second phase includes two more apartment buildings with 169 more units and a shelter.

The approved project just needs more financing. The expected cost of the development was not disclosed.

The project landed $2 million in federal earmark funding, though MidPen is still creating a final financing plan. The firm will likely apply for grant funding for the several million dollars it needs to build the apartments, according to Nicole Franklin, the city’s base reuse manager.

“In terms of going vertical, the development team MidPen and their collaborating partners still need to line up funding to actually build the housing,” Franklin said.

Financing construction has been a major hurdle for developers, given higher interest rates and economic conditions, according to the Business Times.

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While the Federal Reserve recently moved to cut rates, developers aren’t convinced the half-point cut in the Fed’s target rate would be enough to spur new projects.

Construction of one Bay Area apartment unit, affordable or not, now costs more than $1 million. Competition is stiff for low-income tax credits for affordable housing projects.

The first phase of MidPen’s project on Alameda Point will include Stardust Gardens, a four-story, 78-unit affordable complex with an early childhood development center. It’ll also include Harbor Village, a four-story, 85-unit affordable complex for veterans.

The RESHAP project will provide 201 replacement homes for residents living in former military housing, as well as 131 new homes on the West Midway. 

The city loaned developers Brookfield Properties and Catellus Development, developing 487 market-rate units on the West Midway site, $9.5 million for infrastructure improvements, expected to be completed next year.

MidPen Housing, founded in 1970 by tech moguls David Packard, Bill Hewlett and community and business leaders, has $2.9 billion in assets under management, according to its website.  They include 137 managed properties, nearly 1,400 homes under construction and more than 4,600 in the pipeline.

— Dana Bartholomew

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