Dozens of Santa Clara County professors and administrative staff will be some of the first to move into affordable apartments reserved for community college employees, thanks to one school district’s unique housing approach.
The Foothill-De Anza Community College District board unanimously approved a roughly $54.5 million purchase of 50 affordable apartments for staff earlier this month. The district will buy the empty apartments at 699 N. Shoreline Blvd. as part of an agreement with Mountain View Whisman School District, which owns and operates the 144-apartment complex as workforce housing for 53 households. About 20 apartments are reserved for Mountain View city employees.
The elementary school district has been unable to fill the 123 affordable apartments reserved for its staff because there are more apartments than the existing need. The sale is more financially sustainable for the district.
The college district is still parsing out the rent and prioritization requirements. But any household bringing in less than 150% of the area’s median income — $204,975 for a single person — will be eligible per Mountain View policy.
Peter Landsberger, college district board president, said he supports the purchase because securing affordable workforce housing is part of Measure G’s promises — and it’s the right thing to do. Measure G, a $898 million bond voters passed in 2020, will fund the purchase.
“We try to compensate adequately, but the living in this area, it’s still a challenge,” he told San José Spotlight. “(Staff does) a lot of good work. They deserve to have a decent place to live.”
The college district employs about 1,700 people, according to the Foothill-De Anza Faculty Association — but it’s unclear how many will be eligible for the apartments. Yet the unmet housing need is evident. The college district has 12 apartments in another affordable housing complex, and when it launched, more than 60 college employees applied. The waitlist is robust, according to school officials.
The elementary school board approved the sale to the college district last month, but paperwork still has to be finalized before community college employees can move in.
Employees such as Stacey Carrasco, who works as a De Anza College program coordinator, are thrilled the district moved forward with the purchase. Carrasco said while she doesn’t need the help now, affordable housing would have been invaluable for her when she faced housing insecurity two years ago. She struggled during the pandemic while trying to save money for her future goals.
“That’s what I would have really loved — the fact that it would have given me a timeline to really save and be dedicated (to buying) housing,” Carrasco told San José Spotlight.
Purchasing existing affordable apartments is more financially feasible for the college district than its original plan to build housing from scratch. Constructing a new building would cost the district an estimated $64.5 million, about $5.5 million more than the elementary school district purchase even with additional furniture and contingency costs, according to district data.
Tim Shively, president of the Foothill-De Anza Faculty Association and English professor, said it makes sense to buy into existing housing to address the affordability problem. Foothill-De Anza Community College District purchased the McClellan Terrace Apartments in Cupertino this summer using Measure G funds, in a controversial move that evicted existing residents to turn 94 apartments into 332 affordable student beds.
Shively worked on the Measure G campaign five years ago and said this housing should have come quicker. He said professors often commute from Tracy or Vallejo, which doesn’t allow them to become rooted within the community they serve.
“(The housing) is a short-term thing,” Shively told San José Spotlight. “But that’s a start that allows them to live within striking distance.”
The sale benefits Mountain View Whisman School District, too.
Superintendent Jeffrey Baier said the district struggled to fill the apartments after it began leasing them this year, adding the college district’s purchase offers a unique collaboration. The elementary school district used some money from $259 million Measure T, which voters passed in 2020, to fund the construction of the apartment complex. The complex includes a pool, barbecue area and gym.
“Both of (our districts) serve the Mountain View community,” Baier told San José Spotlight. “So it just made good sense from that perspective. It also diversifies the housing a bit.”
Carrasco said she is proud to work for a district working to provide housing for its employees.
“I’m hoping this is not the end. (I’m) hoping we will purchase more or build it ourselves,” she said. “I’m optimistic that the district is going to do the right thing for employees who really enjoy working for the district.”
Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X.
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