Irvine, CA – Jamboree Housing Corporation, one of California’s largest affordable housing developers, today announced the groundbreaking of Park Landing Apartment Homes on Thursday, April 5, 2012, from Noon to 2 p.m. Program participants include Buena Park Mayor Jim Dow, Buena Park City Manager Rick Warsinski, members of the Buena Park City Council, city officials and Jamboree executives. Interview and photo opportunities are available.
Located in Buena Park (buenapark.com) on a long-abandoned commercial site adjacent to a residential neighborhood, Park Landing will consist of 70 rental apartment homes for working families earning between 30% and 60% of the county's area median income. The multifamily, four-story property will be developed on a two-acre urban infill site at 8850 La Palma Avenue owned by the City of Buena Park, and is slated for a July 2013 grand opening.
Although Jamboree has created a wide array of award-winning workforce housing developments throughout California, Park Landing represents its first public/private partnership with the City of Buena Park.
“This project is a great example of an effective public/private partnership,” says Rick Warsinski, Buena Park City Manager. “It will result in the elimination of a blighted site and the creation of high quality affordable homes for Buena Park families.”
Laura Archuleta, Jamboree President, says this team effort is also a prime example of how workforce housing can combine excellence with sustainability. “A large scale development such as Park Landing would not exist without the long-term, committed support of the Buena Park City Council and the former Redevelopment Agency. It represents the current best practices in our industry, and will also provide a substantial and sustainable boost to the local economy.”
Buena Park Mayor Jim Dow agrees. “This project will create hundreds of construction jobs at a time we need them more than ever,” he says.
According to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), Park Landing and its residents will generate $5.5 million in local income, $578,900 in taxes for local government, and 85 jobs in the first year of construction. The ongoing impact is expected to translate to $1.68 million in local income, $308,700 in taxes for local government, and 21 jobs each year.
Park Landing is being designed to achieve the LEED for Homes Silver rating, and is one of three Jamboree properties on track to be LEED certified this year. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.
Park Landing will also offer Buena Park an innovative environmental “first.” Designed by Newman Garrison + Partners architects based on its New Block™ concept, Park Landing’s urban-styled community will feature a 21,000-square-foot green roof structure over surface parking, the first of its kind to be incorporated in a residential property in Orange County or the Inland Empire.
According to Michael Massie, Housing Development Director at Jamboree, New Block™ and the green deck simply made sense with the constraints and demands of the two-acre site. “We’re willing to innovate and to identify appropriate means to develop quality affordable housing on even the most challenging of sites. For Park Landing, the green roof provides a key solution that makes the project possible.”
Park Landing residents will benefit from outdoor space and amenities provided by this green roof, which will include a patio area, a tot lot, barbeque/picnic areas and a basketball court. The green roof will reduce the “heat island” effect generated by the asphalt of an open parking area, and will capture, reduce and filter storm water runoff. Since green roofs help to reclaim green space, they can also provide habitat for songbirds, butterflies and a host of other invertebrate species, therefore helping to promote biodiversity and carbon sequestration so that carbon dioxide is absorbed by green plants.
Finally, the green roof addresses one of the today’s biggest design issues for a dense urban environment – providing enough open space to meet most cities' infill development requirements.
When complete, Park Landing will feature six one-bedroom, 41 two-bedroom, and 23 three-bedroom floor plans, each equipped with ENERGY STAR appliances, tankless water heaters, low-flow restrictors and other sustainable features designed to reduce utility costs for residents.
To receive tax credit allocation funding under California’sTitle 24, the property’s energy efficiency must exceed 15%. Park Landing exceeds Title 24 standards by 21%, according to Massie. A detailed Green Features Fact Sheet is available upon request.
The former Buena Park Redevelopment Agency provided $6.55 million for the $22 million development of Park Landing. Other financing consists of 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee purchased for $7.465 million by WNC & Associates, which is the equity investor, and a $3.25 million construction loan from U. S. Bank. Additional funding sources included the California Department of Housing & Community Development Multifamily Housing Program (MHP) with $4.8 million. Jamboree purchased the land from the Buena Park Redevelopment Agency for $3.6 million.
Located on a major boulevard near shopping, job centers and public services, Park Landing will offer resident amenities such as a community center with a fitness room, tutoring and computer lab, kitchen and laundry facilities. It will also be adjacent to two major bus lines that provide 185 rides to major work centers in Orange County and downtown Los Angeles. Park Landing will be served by the Magnolia School District – five elementary and secondary schools are within 1.5 miles of the property. Fullerton, Santa Ana and Coastline Community Colleges are within about 10 miles of the property.
In its commitment to build healthy communities that provide opportunities and resources for residents to enhance their quality of life, Jamboree’s Resident Services Group, Housing with Heart, will provide free onsite resident services and programs tailored to meet the unique needs of Park Landing’s families. These site-specific programs—tailored and led by an onsite community manager—will foster learning, health, and community building to enrich their daily living.
The Collaborative West is the landscape architect of Jamboree’s newest development and SBI Builders, Inc. is the general contractor. The John Stewart Company will provide onsite property management.
A Property Fact Sheet is available upon request.
About Jamboree: Founded in 1990, Irvine, CA-headquartered Jamboree Housing Corporation is an award-winning, broad-based nonprofit housing development company that develops, acquires, renovates and manages permanently affordable rental and ownership housing throughout California for working families, seniors and people with special needs. HOMES, Inc. and Housing with HEART are 501(c)(3) organizations and comprise Jamboree’s Resident Services Group. A leading nonprofit developer, Jamboree is committed to sustaining excellence with high quality affordable housing that is good for the environment, the economy and local communities. It currently has about $250 million in affordable housing projects in its development pipeline and a $1 billion asset portfolio that includes the development of and/or ownership interest in more than 6,600 homes in more than 65 California communities. Currently, Housing with HEART programs and services that foster learning, health and community building are offered at 38 Jamboree communities with designated staff at each location. For more information, go to www.jamboreehousing.com.