Alameda County seeks to transform vacant lots into low-rise homes
By CBS Bay Area
Tamara Smith lives in a micro studio in Hayward that spans roughly 200 to 300 square feet.
“This is my first time living in a studio, let alone a micro-studio,” Smith told CBS News Bay Area. “Small space, so I did my research, and then just started figuring out how I wanted to design the space.”
Her journey to getting here took more than nine years. After many applications and waitlists, she was finally picked through the county’s housing lottery system.
“I jumped at the opportunity, not knowing what type of apartment complex it is. I didn’t find out until I moved in, and then it was like, ‘Oh, this is different,” she said, citing there were safety concerns.
“It’s been a challenging experience. You know, I like the space. I’ve made it home for me. It’s a small space, so just getting used to tiny living has been interesting,” Smith added.
She shared that she had endured health challenges that prevented her from working for a few years. But now, she has found her footing as an independent living counselor.
“I help adults with special needs live, teach them how to live independently,” Smith said.
However, she said that even with her job, it is still difficult to make ends meet. She also hopes to move from her current micro-studio, but said it’s been even more challenging to find available housing options.
“There’s not enough housing for individuals like myself,” Smith said. “Never thought this would be my reality. But hey, you make the best of it. All of us are out here really hustling to work hard and make ends meet, and it’s just really hard to keep up with this economy.”
Alameda County officials, however, are planning to make a change.
“This is the proposal for a site like this that Inspired ADUs has provided,” Dylan Sweeney, the programs and policy manager with the Alameda County Department of Housing and Community Development, told CBS News Bay Area.
Back in August, the county launched the new SHIFT initiative to tackle the affordable housing crisis. Alameda County awarded Oakland-based company Inspired ADUs to lead the effort of building more affordable homes on infill lots.
We’ve identified 8,000 of these similar lots, and they’re places we could potentially build housing that are currently not being used for anything at all,” Sweeney said.
He said the vision is to transform these underutilized lots in suburban neighborhoods countywide into properties. The initiative is aimed at providing homes for families who make 60 to 80% of the area’s median income.
Sweeney added that more than 11,000 low-income households in Alameda County are paying more than half of their monthly income for housing costs, and so hopes that projects like these can be one part of the greater solution.
“Smaller lots are really difficult to develop, and we have a new process that we hope is going to unlock these development opportunities. That’s going to allow us to build housing much faster and potentially more affordably,” he said.
The county will be funding $125,000 per unit built, and homes will be either for rent or for sale.
“We’re looking at anywhere from four units, in sort of an ADU configuration, all the way to 16, or even 20 of a multifamily configuration,” he said.
He reassured that the homes will be low-rise and offer gentle density in these neighborhoods. The plan is to break ground on 50 units within the next 18 months in the project’s first phase.
Sweeney said they are working on sites, including in Oakland, Newark and Livermore as a part of the initial plan. Smith hopes that she’ll be able to purchase a home just like the ones to be built through the SHIFT initiative.
“I’m born and raised in California, San Mateo, as a matter of fact,” Smith said. “And my parents are here, they’re elderly and so I don’t want to leave California because I do look after them as well.”
County officials said the next step is to execute an agreement with Inspired ADUs by March, before construction of the first phase begins.
