Quarterly Newsletter - Q1 2019
Message From Our Chair
Greetings! 2018 proved to be an exciting and productive year for the Irvine Community Land Trust. I am very proud of what we accomplished in the last year, providing secure, high-quality affordable housing for the benefit of income-eligible families.
As we all know, Irvine is among the most expensive real estate markets in the nation; for this reason, there is both a tremendous need for, and tremendous obstacles to, affordable housing.
Kicking off the year, we announced the move to become independent from the City of Irvine, which helps improve operation efficiency and funding opportunities on housing projects.
We celebrated the grand opening of Parc Derian, a rental community in the Irvine Business Complex for working families, veterans, and special-needs residents of Irvine. Continued development on Salerno, a new 80-unit rental community. And began development on our first homeownership community, Native Spring, which will help first-time homebuyers live in Irvine.
In addition to these new projects, we continue to provide quality housing and services at Alegre Apartments and Doria Apartment Homes.
In all, that’s 466 current and future households, and more than a thousand people, who can comfortably live, work and raise families in Irvine directly because of the work of the Irvine Community Land Trust.
As we continue work on these projects, 2019 promises to be even more positive and exciting!
Melissa Fox
Chair, Irvine Community Land Trust
Council member, City of Irvine
Irvine Community Land Trust re-established as independent, nonprofit
In a move that increases operational efficiencies and enhance its ability to provide quality affordable housing for qualifying residents, ICLT, a 501(c)3 nonprofit providing affordable housing, became independent from the City of Irvine. The spin-off was envisioned in the city’s business plan for the ICLT, which states that the trust shall become self-sustaining and independent after it attains 200 affordable housing units. That threshold was crossed in 2017. Read more here.
ICLT celebrates completion, residents move in at Parc Derian
Designed to bring employees closer to work, this 80-unit affordable multifamily community is within the Irvine Business Complex that is a short walk to many jobs as well as Irvine Unified Schools, public transportation, dining and shopping options. Apartments range from one- to three bedrooms and include walk-in closets, energy-efficient appliances, assigned parking and balconies. A public/private partnership between ICLT, C&C Development, Innovative Housing Opportunities, Lennar Corporation, the City of Irvine, Parc Derian is an excellent example of public-private partnerships working creatively to provide affordable housing for Irvine’s workforce. Read more here.
ICLT to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build Native Spring
The two local nonprofits will join to build Native Spring, a 68-unit attached townhome community located at Native Spring, north of Irvine Boulevard. This is ICLT’s first homeownership community, and homes will be sold to first-time homebuyers,who earn up to 120 percent of the area’s median income.The Native Spring project aims to provide affordable townhomes to people in Irvine, especially U.S. military veterans, teachers, nurses, and young professionals. Read more here.
Committed to Efficiency and Strong Leadership
Words From a Resident
When looking for housing, accessibility is always the biggest challenge. A little over 30 years ago, I was out training on my bicycle and was hit by a drunk driver and broke my neck. The accident left me paralyzed below the shoulders. For me, the biggest challenge with most other apartments is manipulating things with my hands and getting around the area comfortably.
I owned a condo in Tustin for a few years, but when I lost my job, I knew I would need to find something affordable. It can be very hard to find an apartment that is both accessible and affordable. I lived in a market-rate apartment in Fountain Valley for a year, which was very nice, but at over $1,000 a month in rent it wasn’t sustainable.
Parc Derian has everything I need, and the affordability has a huge impact on my quality of life. It’s really taken a lot of stress off of me because the market rate apartment was really stressful as I was burning through my savings in a big hurry.
I was really surprised to find that I was able to access everything around the complex and my apartment quite easily. The management helped me a lot, too. For example, the property uses electric locks on the door, and the way it was setup I couldn’t operate the door. They changed the setting so that it worked for a longer period of time, giving me enough time to unlock the door and then swing around to open it.
Parc Derian feels just as nice as any new market-rate apartment. It’s very attractive, well- maintained, and the management does a great job helping residents. My days are laid back and low stress here.
David Ward
Resident at Parc Derian
Native Spring looks for approval from City of Irvine
The Native Spring project will be submitted for approval by the City of Irvine in summer 2019, with construction expected to begin in the fall. Completion of Phase 1 on the project is planned for summer 2020. ICLT is currently accepting applicants on its interest list.
Development continues on Salerno rental community
Salerno is a rental community in partnership with Chelsea Investment Corporation. Located at Nightmist and Sand Canyon Avenue, the complex will include 80 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Salerno will include many amenities for high-quality living. Development is expected to be completed in 2021.
New website and newsletter in Q1
As we continue with our housing projects, we want to provide our partners, residents and the public easy access to the latest news. We have redesigned our website to provide more functionality and will continue with this quarterly newsletter. Stay tuned!
Message From a Partner
“We appreciate the Irvine Community Land Trust and its commitment to providing and preserving quality affordable housing for the residents of Irvine.”
Todd Cottle
Principal, C&C Development
Want to contribute to providing affordable housing for employees within your company?
The ICLT continues to look for corporate donors who can contribute grants, materials and items to help build, furnish and landscape new affordable properties. Contact us to learn how to contribute in 2019.