Gilroy, California is well known for its garlic crop, but it also has at least three LEED projects within its 16 square miles. The newly built Gilroy Sobrato Apartments developed by South County Housing is the first LEED for Homes Platinum rated project in Gilroy. It provides 25 studio units of permanent affordable housing for chronically homeless and disabled individuals who are required to pay only 30% of their income toward their housing costs. South County Housing is a non-profit community development corporation that has developed nearly 2700 housing units since its inception in 1979. Its mission is to promote viable neighborhoods that enhance healthy, sustainable communities and provide affordable housing and neighborhood services through its development and property management services.
The story behind Gilroy Sobrato Apartments exemplifies how an affordable housing developer was agile and responsive in coming up with a new solution to a plan that became derailed. Back in 2002, South County Housing (SCH) and EHC LifeBuilders acquired land in Gilroy to construct transitional housing for families that were homeless or at risk of homelessness and to build and operate a 140-bed emergency year round shelter. In 2006, SCH constructed a 60-unit family transitional housing project and EHC started developing the emergency shelter project.
Unfortunately, the shelter never came to fruition because federal and state governments began to move away from funding shelter operations and EHC thus determined it was unfeasible to operate the planned shelter. What to do when valuable land sits idle and funding dries up? With a new attainable funding scheme in place by 2008, SCH agreed to take over the land from EHC and develop permanent housing for chronically homeless individuals. SCH was able to obtain needed funding, for both construction and operating subsidies, from the City of Gilroy (Housing Trust), County of Santa Clara (AHF, HOME, and CDBG), State of California (MHP Supportive Housing and MHSA Capital and operating subsidy), and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (McKinney operating grant). Within an eight-month timeframe, construction was completed and people started moving into the new, LEED certified Gilroy Sobrato Apartments in August of 2013.
The Property includes case management offices and meeting spaces for small and large group meetings. It also provides a very generous amount of recreational spaces including an indoor exercise room, TV lounge, and outdoor facilities for basketball and bocce and horseshoe courts. On-site case management services involve helping the residents with all daily activities (housekeeping, cooking, medical issues, etc.) and re-integration into the broader community.
Out of the 92.5 points earned at Gilroy Sobrato Apartments, most points were achieved in the Energy and Atmosphere category. The building’s energy performance exceeds Title 24 by 71.3% and is enabled by energy efficient components such as energy efficient lighting, appliances, reduced duct leakage, and a 45kWh solar photovoltaic system, which is estimated to provide 53% of the annual energy load. In regards to prerequisites and the other categories of Location and Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality, the project has accomplished many points that are also considered standard practice for many San Francisco Bay Area affordable housing developers.
Here are some far-reaching strategies that the Gilroy Sobrato team accomplished and can be easily carried out by any project team:
- Build in an environmentally responsible site with existing infrastructure, community resources, and transit options.
- Integrated project team holds regular team meetings and all members are involved in various project phases of the project.
- Contractor follows a quality management process for evaluating and inspecting durability strategies and moisture control measures.
- Use of material-efficient, resource-conserving, and environmentally preferable products such as drought-tolerant landscaping, products made with recycled content, energy efficient equipment, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
- Educating the building staff and the residents about the benefits of green building, operations, and maintenance strategies.
All projects rely on the teamwork of the owner, architect, builder, engineers, consultants, funders, and government agencies. Gilrory Sobrato Apartments is no exception. To mention a few players, it was designed by the Dahlin Group, built by South County Community Builders, and verified by Bright Green Strategies for meeting the LEED for Homes requirements. South County Housing proves to be a leader in not only getting difficult projects to the finish line but also in investing in long-term sustainability, incorporating green building practices, and using environmentally responsible materials throughout its properties.
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