Where: Sonoma County, California
Problem: Wildfires in 2017 destroyed an estimated 6,000 homes
Solution: Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) issued a $19 million loan to fund a 48-unit single-family development.
In 2017, 22 fires destroyed an estimated 6,000 homes in Sonoma County. Historically, Sonoma’s housing development already lagged behind demand. Wildfire losses exacerbated the housing deficit; and after the fires, Sonoma’s housing supply was at an all-time low.
Sonoma is seen as an affluent area, with a high-cost housing market that prices many working-class families out. The counties’ largest working-class neighborhood, Coffey Park, was among the hardest hit by the fires. Many families displaced from these areas were underinsured and could not afford to rebuild their homes.
Burbank Housing Development Corporation (BHDC) has a long history of developing affordable housing in Sonoma and Napa counties. Since 1980, BHDC constructed or rehabilitated more than 3,800 units. These projects have ranged from mutual self-help to contractor built. BDHC carries out all phases of project development, starting from site identification, through construction and all the way up to sales and ongoing operations. BHDC is a long time RCAC borrower that received its first loan in 1995.
RCAC issued a $19 million loan to BHDC. Combined with various other funding sources, the loan will fund the Lantana Homes subdivision development in Santa Rosa, the county seat of Sonoma. Lantana Homes includes 48 single-family homes, which will be reserved for low- to moderate income families. Twenty-three units with be sold to families below 120 percent of the counties’ annual median income. The BHDC homeownership team helps homebuyers access loans from several funding sources for down payment assistance. Morgan Stanly Investments is a major participant in the RCAC loan, and the project has strong backing from the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.
BHDC has owned the site since 2008, and much of the early site development is already complete. Construction began in 2020 and will be completed in 2021.
