Eden Updates, Press Releases

Eden Housing Awarded $21.7 Million for its Timber Senior Housing in Newark

March 1, 2023

— Governor Newsom Commits More than $825 Million to Build Affordable Housing
Through Accelerated Approval Process —

Timber Senior Housing Rendering

March 1, 2023 — Eden Housing received $21.7 million for its Timber Senior Housing project in Newark, California, as part of Governor Newsom’s recent commitment of more than $825 million to help expand the state’s affordable housing stock and increase capacity for additional climate-smart infill housing.

“The Timber Street project will provide much-needed new housing for Newark’s senior population,” said Eden Housing CEO Linda Mandolini. “We are thrilled to have the critical support needed to make this dream a reality and would like to thank Governor Newsom for his stewardship and vision to provide affordable housing for all.”

The project will create 79 one-bedroom units and redevelop a one-acre site, fulfilling the city’s vision of transforming the surrounding neighborhood from light industrial and warehouse space to a vibrant, walkable residential neighborhood.

“The Timber Street project will revitalize the neighborhood and create vital housing for our senior community at the same time,” said Alan Nagy, Mayor of Newark. “Projects like this require partnership from the state, and I look forward to working together to create housing for our city’s vulnerable populations.”

Newsom announced the funding awards under a new streamlined application process aimed at accelerating the development of new projects while saving time and money at the local level. The application process to receive state housing funding in California was needlessly complex, and time consuming, resulting in delayed projects and extra cost. Under Governor Newsom, this process has been overhauled. Now, what previously required four separate applications has been narrowed down to just one submission. 

“As we demand more housing to be built at the local level, it is incumbent upon the state to reimagine and modernize our own approval process,” said Governor Newsom. “State applications that were once redundant, and overly bureaucratic are now streamlined to ensure projects are not stalled in an endless bureaucracy that favored process over production.”

Approximately 9,550 homes will move forward statewide through this new streamlined application process, benefitting an estimated 187,500 people over the total lifetime of all projects combined.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) last year combined state-funded multifamily housing programs to make them accessible to more communities, more equitable in serving the lowest-income Californians, and more targeted toward achieving better outcomes in health, climate, and household stability.

“California continues to advance our commitment to building 2.5 million homes — with one million affordable homes — by 2030, as outlined in our Statewide Housing Plan,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Our simple approach to funding helps us accelerate much-needed construction and ensure the lowest-income Californians have access to quality homes near jobs, transit, schools, and other necessities that will make our communities more inclusive for decades to come.”

About Eden Housing

Eden Housing is a non-profit organization with 55 years of experience providing safe and affordable housing that helps families stay secure, allows communities to thrive, and solves many of the most pressing housing challenges facing California cities. Since its inception, the Bay Area-based organization has developed more than 10,000 affordable homes and is a leader in making its residential communities environmentally sustainable and efficient through integrating energy conservation. Eden is also known as a champion of housing policy advocacy at the local, state, and national level, supporting practices that both create and preserve affordable housing for diverse communities. Learn more at www.edenhousing.org.


Media Contact:
Birgit Johnston
Johnston Communications for Eden Housing
(408) 656 8025, birgitjohnston@me.com