The Fund’s second loan will finance 120 studio apartments for individuals experiencing homelessness
[SANTA CRUZ, Calif., July 31, 2024] – Today, the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund announced its support for Harvey West Studios, a 120-unit permanent supportive housing development preparing to begin construction in Santa Cruz. Housing Matters, a 35+year old non-profit organization serving the unhoused community in Santa Cruz County, will own and operate Harvey West Studios, with MidPen Housing serving as the turnkey developer.
Earlier this month, the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, Sobrato Philanthropies, Destination: Home, and Apple announced the launch of the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund with $50 million in initial investment. The Fund provides favorable loans to projects that can deliver deeply affordable homes faster and more cost-effectively, with a goal to achieve cost and time savings of around 40%.
Harvey West Studios will be built on the Housing Matters campus at 119 Coral Street and is the largest permanent supportive housing project planned to date in Santa Cruz County. The building plan includes secured bike parking for residents, residential amenity space including kitchen and laundry facilities, and services and management offices. The ground floor will be home to a recuperative care center and health clinic that will be operated by Housing Matters and the County of Santa Cruz Homeless Persons Health Project.
“We are thrilled that the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund will be partnering with Housing Matters, MidPen Housing, local government agencies in Santa Cruz, and other community-based organizations to deliver this ambitious and impactful project. Harvey West Studios will have an immediate impact towards ending chronic homelessness in Santa Cruz County,” said Rebecca Foster, CEO of the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, which manages the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund. In addition to the Innovation Fund loan, the Housing Accelerator Fund is also partnering with Century Housing and UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealth Group has provided $15 million in construction financing for Harvey West Studios to increase affordable housing capacity in key communities across the country as a way of advancing health equity through stable and safe housing.
“The additional support provided by the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund brings the final funding pieces into place that will make permanent supportive housing a reality for 120 people experiencing chronic homelessness in our community. Housing Matters, in collaboration with many key partners in the city, county, and state of California, have been developing this vision over the past eight years for the Harvey West Studios project. We are excited to be that much closer to providing the dignity of more stable housing in Santa Cruz,” said Phil Kramer, CEO of Housing Matters.
“Ensuring that people experiencing chronic homelessness have access to safe, supportive housing is a priority if we want to resolve homelessness in Santa Cruz,” said Fred Keeley, Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz. “Harvey West Studios is an excellent example of the kind of project that will impact our community and provide homes for the most vulnerable of our citizens. The City is proud to be a partner in this project and we welcome the investment in Santa Cruz by the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund and the Housing Accelerator Fund.”
1633 Valencia Street, the first project to receive financing through the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund Fund, broke ground on July 23 with a celebration onsite in San Francisco’s Mission District. The project, a 145-unit permanent supportive housing project that will serve older adults over 55 who are experiencing or are at imminent risk of homelessness, is expected to complete construction in December 2025, with residents moving in by Summer 2026.
About the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund
The newly launched Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund is a $50M pilot fund created by HAF, Destination: Home, Sobrato Philanthropies, and Apple, designed to accelerate projects that meet ambitious cost and time goals, using private philanthropic capital to reduce escalation associated with traditional affordable housing financing sources. Learn more at www.bahif.org.
About the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund
The San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund is committed to the preservation and expansion of quality affordable housing for economically disadvantaged individuals and families throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area. An innovative nonprofit public-private partnership and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), HAF works with community-based organizations, local governments, and private and philanthropic institutions to provide powerful new financing tools that accelerate housing solutions for the Bay Area’s most vulnerable residents. Visit us at www.sfhaf.org.
About Housing Matters
Housing Matters partners with individuals and families to create pathways out of their homelessness into permanent housing. Housing Matters offers housing support services and case management as well as emergency shelter and direct services — including hot showers, public bathrooms, and a mailroom — to people experiencing homelessness. Our campus shares space with the County-operated healthcare clinic Homeless Persons Health Project and Dientes, a full-service nonprofit dental clinic, making these services easily accessible to Housing Matters’ guests and the community. Our case management and housing navigation services help end homelessness for hundreds of individuals and their families every year. Learn more at www.housingmatterssc.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.