Eden Housing Frequently Asked Questions - City of Livermore
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Eden Housing Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Eden Housing proposal?
Eden Housing is proposing to construct 130 units of affordable workforce housing
at the southeast corner of Railroad Avenue and L Street in Downtown Livermore.
The proposed project consists of two buildings with a large public park (Veterans
Park) in between. In addition to the new public park with playground, the project
would include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, underground parking, resident
meeting space, service facilities, and a private playground.
2. Is this part of the Downtown Plan approved by the City Council in 2018?
Yes. Prior to approval of the Downtown Plan, the City worked for many years
through the complex process of acquiring and assembling the downtown
properties, relocating tenants, demolishing buildings, and doing environmental
clean-up to prepare the project site for redevelopment. The City underwent an
extensive community outreach process and received feedback on the best
locations for a range of uses, including workforce housing.
Based on this public process, the City Council approved a Downtown Plan in
January 2018, which included two public parks, a science center, black box
theater, new commercial retail space, affordable workforce housing and a wine
country themed hotel. The housing shown on the illustrative plan was conceptual
since a developer had not yet been chosen for the project. Eden Housing was
ultimately selected to develop the project and they are currently working to refine
site plans and building designs for the project.
3. How was Eden Housing chosen for this project?
In May 2018, the City issued a Request for Qualifications to identify a developer
for the site. Multiple affordable housing developers submitted applications and
Eden Housing was selected based on their successful history of developing,
managing, and maintaining similar projects throughout the Bay Area and in
Livermore. In November 2018, the City Council approved a Disposition,
Development and Loan Agreement (DDLA) with Eden Housing and provided a
$500,000 loan for Eden to begin design and predevelopment work for a housing
project on this site.
City Hall 1052 South Livermore Avenue www.cityoflivermore.net
Livermore, CA 94550 TDD: (925) 960-4104Page 2 of 5
4. Please explain the affordable rental housing this project provides and the type of
workforce it will serve.
This project will be affordable to a variety of essential workers in Livermore who
are unable to afford market rate housing. This includes entry level teachers and
school staff, health care workers, office workers, restaurant and retail employees,
and many more. The Eden project will meet the needs of working households in
Livermore and will be available to those earning 60 percent or less of the area
median income (AMI), which for a single person is $54,840 and for a family of four
is $78,300. View this chart showing the income ranges and household sizes that
will be eligible for this housing, as well as some of the professions that could be
served. Preference for these units will be given to those working and/or living in
Livermore.
5. Compared to the concept plan created in January 2018, has the current plan
changed?
The fundamental aspects of the project remain the same. It provides 130 units of
workforce housing with a large public park (Veterans Park) running through the
center. Compared to the 2018 concept plan, there have been some changes in
design. The project is now proposed to be divided into two four-story buildings
rather than four three- and four-story buildings. The building footprint has
increased to accommodate a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units and more
common areas and amenities than the original concept. The result is a project that
will better meet the needs of Livermore’s working families.
The private landscape areas around the project have been reduced, but Veterans
Park has been enlarged and remains the signature feature of the site plan. The
layout of Veterans Park has also been adjusted to provide room for a public
playground near the corner of Veterans Way and the K Street promenade. The
center of the park, as originally planned, provides room for a public green
connecting all the way from South L Street to South Livermore Avenue, which will
enhance this portion of the Downtown core for visitors and residents.
6. Eden Housing was awarded $14.4 million from the Regional East County Measure
A1 Bond competitive funding pool in January 2020. Please explain how this
funding works. Does it need to be repaid and would Eden Housing lose this
funding if the project did not move forward as proposed?
Affordable housing projects such as this typically require several funding sources.
With limited funding sources available to build affordable housing, developers
must carefully assemble a complex financing strategy. The City will typically
provide pre-construction funding and the land for the project, and the non-profit
partner then works to develop designs and seeks additional project funding.Page 3 of 5
Eden Housing was able to secure a funding commitment of $14.4 million from
Alameda County’s East County Measure A Bond fund. The project was
competitively selected in large part based on its Downtown location, proximity to
transit, and because the City already owned the site and had entered into an
agreement with Eden to provide the land for the project. Without site control the
project would not have been funded by the County and would not have been able
to move forward in the near term. If the project does not move forward now, Eden
will need to return the $14.4 million to the County and the grant funding will be
distributed to another project (most likely in another City) that is ready to move
forward now.
7. Could the project be moved to another site?
The City does not own any nearby property or have excess funding available for
property purchase. The City acquired the downtown site with affordable housing
funds in 2008. Through the City’s community outreach process in 2017, the
majority of respondents identified the northwest portion of the site as an
appropriate location for affordable workforce housing. The City Council
incorporated 130 units of workforce housing into the Downtown Plan in 2018 and
the proposed project implements that plan.
The Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department has
confirmed that if the project were to be significantly altered, reduced in size or
moved to another site, the County’s $14.4 million grant would no longer be
available to the project and the funding would be awarded instead to the next
highest scoring project on the County’s list, or the rescinded funds could be
reissued through a new Request for Proposals process that would be open to
other jurisdictions. View the County’s determination.
8. What is the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), and why is this project
relevant to making progress towards fulfilling the City’s RHNA obligation?
The RHNA refers to the fair share of regional housing that the City is required to
accommodate during an eight-year planning period as determined by State
housing law. The City’s RHNA for the current eight-year Housing Element cycle is
2,729 dwelling units, distributed among four income categories (839 very low, 474
low, 496 moderate, and 920 above moderate). Consistent with the RHNA for most
Bay Area cities, Livermore’s overall housing need is greatest in the very low-
income (31 percent of RHNA) and above moderate-income (34 percent of RHNA)
categories. Livermore’s RHNA also reflects a need for workforce and senior
housing in the low- and moderate-income categories, which represent 17 percent
and 18 percent of the RHNA, respectively.Page 4 of 5
The City has met its RHNA targets for the above moderate- and moderate-income
categories. However, the City has not met its targets for the low- and
extremely/very low-income categories.
Eden’s workforce housing project would account for 130 housing units affordable
to low-, very low-, and extremely low-income households. The City’s current
Housing Element identifies 235 housing units at a low-income affordability level for
the Eden project site. Since the proposal is for only 130 units, the City must
demonstrate to the State that there are adequate sites left in the City to construct
the balance of units. Remaining sites in the City can accommodate 159 low-
income units. This capacity can accommodate the 105 units that would not be
constructed on this site that are identified in the Housing Element for the
Livermore Village site.
9. What is the timing for this project?
The project has been reviewed by the Planning Commission and will be
considered by the City Council at a public hearing on May 24, 2021. If the project
is approved, Eden will move forward with an application for tax credit financing,
which is the last financing piece needed for the project. Building permit plans will
be prepared this fall and the project will be ready to begin construction early next
year. The project is expected to take about 14 months to complete.
10. The City Council made a commitment to maintain sufficient parking during
construction in the Downtown. What are the current plans?
Construction of the I Street garage is underway and, along with some re-striping of
the existing Railroad Garage, will provide 286 new spaces. Construction of the I
Street garage will be complete in the Spring of 2022. The additional spaces
provided at I Street will help ensure adequate parking supply during later phases
of construction. In addition, the City is working with several property owners to
open their parking lots to the public to provide even more short-term parking
during construction.
The Eden Housing project is expected to begin construction in early 2022 and be
complete by summer of 2023. The L Street garage will begin construction in
summer of 2022 and will be complete in early fall of 2023. The L Street garage will
provide over 500 additional parking spaces and should be ready by the time
residents are moving into the Eden project. Once the L Street garage is complete,
the Downtown will exceed its buildout parking demand for all remaining parts of
the Downtown plan.
11. What is happening on the former Groth Brothers auto dealership site directly
across the street on L Street between Railroad and First Street?Page 5 of 5 The former Groth Brothers site is being redeveloped with a private mixed-use development comprised of 14,000 square feet of retail and 222 market-rate apartments.Retail uses will front First Street providing additional shopping and dining opportunities for Downtown visitors and the residential portion of the project will help support Downtown businesses with a built-in customer base that can easily walk to Downtown. This project will provide on-site parking for both the retail and residential uses. 12. How is historical contamination at the Eden Housing site being addressed? Subsurface contaminant impacts were a known condition that was previously studied in the 2009 Subsequent Environmental Impact Report. The City is working with the State's Regional Water Quality Control Board to address existing conditions following the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s typical process for development of contaminated sites. This involves the preparation of a remediation plan and the collection of additional data to facilitate the implementation of the remediation plan. Although the site is subject to ongoing cleanup activities overseen by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, that cleanup is not an unusual circumstance given the past property use, which included a former lumberyard and train depot, and its location in a downtown area with surrounding commercial uses that have included dry cleaners. In fact, similar cleanup activities were conducted on the Livermore Valley Center project sites for the Bankhead Theater, Cinema, and First Street Mixed-Use Commercial uses. Discussions with the Water Board suggest the contaminant impacts are not alarming and the planned response being developed in coordination with the Water Board is expected to be routine for such a site, similar to what has been implemented for nearby development projects, like the Legacy site across the street.
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