All-affordable apartment project proposed in Fremont

An affordable housing developer based in Berkeley has secured an acre of land in Fremont with the goal of building 128 affordable housing units.

Resources for Community Development paid $6.6 million to an undisclosed investor for the parcel, according to Darren Kuiper from Colliers, who represented the seller in the deal.

The project at 3900 Thornton Avenue proposes 128 units of affordable housing, with 66 percent of the units intended for individuals and small families (one-bedroom or studios) and 33 percent are for families (two- and three-bedrooms). There is also one managerial unit.

All the units will be affordable with 25 percent for the homeless or at-risk for homelessness, and the rest for households making between 50 and 80 percent of the area median income. Fremont’s median household income is $58,954 for individuals and $142,374 for a family, according to Census data.

The parcel is located near transit with a half-mile walk to the ACE train station and an eight-minute drive from the BART station. It is also a seven-minute drive from highway 880.

Resources for Community Development started as a Berkeley-based membership organization that focused on limited equity cooperatives, according to its website. The organization accesses state funding for some of its projects.

The multifamily market in the East Bay has cooled down slightly from the red hot summer, according to a recent report by Kidder Mathews. Rents have fallen from $2,537 last quarter to $2,515 in the third quarter. The vacancy rate also dropped from 5.3 percent to 5 percent.

There is also an increase of units under construction this quarter from 27,881 last quarter to 30,824 currently.

The average cost for rent was $1,965 for a studio, $2,290 for a one-bedroom apartment, $2,815 for a two-bedroom and $3,095 for a three-bedroom.

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