Community Matters Newsletter – Fall 2012

Mercy Housing California commemorated the start of construction of Esparto Family Apartments at the Northeast corner of Yolo Avenue and Woodland Avenue on Tuesday, June 5th. Speakers at the event included Mercy Housing staff, Yolo County officials, financing partners and representatives from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Slated for completion in July 2013, Esparto Family Apartments is a new construction development featuring 40 one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable apartment homes for families earning between 30 percent and 55 percent of the Area Median Income. The property will include a central, on-site community center with management offices, resident programming, shared kitchen, computer lab and a play area.

Located in the heart of Esparto, the Gateway to the Capay Valley and the largest population and business center in northwestern Yolo County, the property is on a main route servicing the area’s second largest employer, Cache Creek Casino. It is also situated within a short walk of common conveniences including schools, a library and retail establishments. Its proximity to jobs and services central to the lives of families will alleviate some demand for affordable homes in unincorporated areas of Yolo County and furthers the efforts of Yolo County’s Strategic Housing and Regional Housing Need Allocation Plans.

“At this moment of seemingly unconquerable odds, Esparto Family Apartments shows that we can make a difference in our communities,” said Doug Shoemaker, Mercy Housing California President. “With Esparto Family Apartments, Mercy Housing and our public agency partners will be delivering a place to call home for 40 families, but the ripple effect will touch many more lives in that community and beyond.”

Esparto Family Apartments will also use drought tolerant landscaping, energy conserving materials and construction methods to surpass Title 24 energy efficiency standards by 30% and meet the Enterprise Green Communities Development Criteria.

Financing for this development is being provided by Citibank Community Capital, Enterprise Community Investment, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee,
California Department of Housing and Community Development, and Yolo County and Yolo County Housing. The property is being designed by Stantec Architects, the contractor is Broward Builders and the project engineer firm is Laugenour and Meikle.