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Politics

Money OKd for affordable housing project

City authorizes subsidies for 30 low-income rental units totaling more than $4 million.
By Jason Wells
Published: Last Updated Friday, November 7, 2008 10:26 PM PST

SOUTH GLENDALE — Financing for a 30-unit affordable

housing project on Garfield Avenue was finalized this week,
adding to the 140 low-income rental units that were already
planned for completion next year in south Glendale.

The City Council and Housing Authority voted unanimously

Tuesday to authorize $4.21 million in city subsidies for the
30-unit Gardens on Garfield rental complex in south
Glendale, where two other major affordable housing
projects are already planned for next year.
Financing and permit papers were finalized Thursday,
housing officials said.
The $13-million, 30-unit project planned for 295 E. Garfield
Ave. is scheduled for completion late next year as the city continues to churn out affordable housing options in
the face of steep demand.
A rendering of the upcoming 30-unit Gardens on Garfield
affordable rental housing project. The three-story
Craftsman-style complex is slated for completion at 295 E.
Garfield Ave by the end of next year. Most of the one- two-
and three-bedroom units will be reserved for those
households making less than 50% of the Area Median
Income. (Courtesy of Thomas Safran & Associates)

Thousands of residents filed applications for the most recent affordable rental project, the 44-unit Metro Loma at
328 Mira Loma Ave., this summer, and thousands more are expected to file applications for three other projects,
including Gardens on Garfield, planned for next year.

Glendale City Lights and Vassar City Lights, slated to take over the 3600 block of San Fernando Road, will
provide the majority of affordable units with a combined 140 two- and three-bedroom rental apartments.

All three projects are scheduled to be ready for move-in late next year, so their application periods — which
typically start about six months before a grand opening — could overlap in the summer, community
development officials said.

Of the projects, Gardens on Garfield will not only differ in terms of size, but in scope and lifestyle, according to
plans submitted to the city.

While the City Lights projects are planned for the Glendale’s busy mass transit and industrial corridor, the
Garfield project will be in a quieter residential neighborhood.

Its Craftsman-era design and dense landscaping should help to integrate the 30 units into a block where only half
the amount of market-rate apartments would be allowed under current zoning laws, city planners said.

“We’re really looking forward to this one,” said Mike Fortney, housing project manager for the city’s Community
Development and Housing Department.

So was Karla Sung, who said she has grown tired of walking past the vacant lot between South Brand Boulevard
and Glendale Avenue.

“I saw the notice about it coming, and I was glad because it just drags the neighborhood down to have nothing
there,” Sung said.

With all the funding sources and financing shored up, construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks, said
Andrew Gross, vice president of development for Thomas Safran & Associates, the lead firm on the project.

“It’s a public-private partnership to build these things, and the city was great on this project,” he said.

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Print Version > Money OKd for affordable housing project http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2008/11/08/politics/gnp-garf...

The three-story Gardens on Garfield will have eight one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom units
over 52 parking spaces in a semi-subterranean garage accessed from a public alley on the east side of the lot.

Monthly rents will range from roughly $368 to $1,098, according to the housing agreement with the city.

Most of the units will be available to households making less than 50% of the area median income.

The income limits for that threshold now stand at $26,550 for one person and $30,300 for two, on up to $37,500
for a four-member household, according to city reports.

The application-filing period is tentatively planned to open in August. Once the application period is closed, a
lottery will determine who gets which apartment, Fortney said.

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