Corde Terra Village wins Affordable Housing Project of the Year
Multi-Family
Executive Award–Project of the Year/Affordable: Corde Terra Village
“An amazing example of greater community improvement via affordable housing development of great looking product fulfilling huge market demand.”
–Dave Woodward, CEO and Managing Partner, Laramar Communities
When ROEM Development Corp. won the bid to build 300
units of affordable housing follow by 200 units of senior housing south of San
Jose, Calif., on what had been part of the Santa Clara County fairgrounds, they
knew their plan of attack.
We were not setting out to build a roof over our
residents’ heads,” says Jonathan Emami, vice president of the Santa Clara,
Calif.-based developer. “That is a great start and a great goal to fulfill, but
we feel a need to take that a step further and improve the quality of life and
amenities that they can utilize. We need to create a greater community. There
should be no reason to be embarrassed that you live in affordable housing.”
ROEM executed perfectly on that end with Corde Terra
Village. The Section 42 tax credit deal–273 units are set aside for households
earning below 50 percent of the area median income (AMI); 25 units are set
aside for households below 60 percent AMI–features market-rate architectural
details, a pool and lounge area, community room, children’s playground, and
fitness center. ROEM also went beyond a run-of-the-mill resident services
department. In addition to traditional educational and self-improvement
opportunities, residents can join a chess club or take piano lessons. There’s
even a homework club to help younger residents with school.
ROEM has a particularly vested interest in those studies:
Corde Terra Village sits adjacent to the neighborhood elementary school. In the
spirit of community improvement, ROEM refurbished the playground and
re-landscaped the entire elementary campus at no cost as long as Corde Terra
residents are permitted to use the space for after-school-hours enjoyment. “In
affordable housing you want to keep people happy and focused and interacting
with each other,” Emami says. “We need to think more about our immediate
community and not just bricks and mortar development.”
The people of Santa Clara County obviously agree–Corde
Terra Village was 100 percent pre-lease with a waiting list of more than 600
names. “That speaks directly to the need for affordable housing here in the Bay
Area and nationally as well,” Emami says.