County and Partners Celebrate Opening of Measure A-Funded Affordable Housing in Mountain View
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. – The County of Santa Clara joined a host of partners Friday in celebrating the grand opening of La Avenida Apartments, an affordable housing development in the North Bayshore area of Mountain View.
The County provided $19 million in funding for the project through Measure A, the $950 million affordable housing bond approved by county voters in 2016.
La Avenida brings 100 units of affordable housing to one of Silicon Valley’s technology hubs, just down the road from Google’s sprawling campus.
Twenty-five of the units at La Avenida are dedicated to supportive housing for veterans, and seven are devoted to permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. The rest of the development is for individuals and families making 30-60% of the area median income.
Paul Almeida, a disabled Air Force veteran, is among the first residents of La Avenida, which was developed by nonprofit builder Eden Housing.
Almeida, 58, broke down in tears as he addressed the crowd at the grand opening.
“This is not merely housing – this is a community,” he said. “We thank you for this wonderful opportunity to live a life of grace and dignity, because everyone deserves that.”
County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga, whose District 5 includes Mountain View, joined representatives of the City of Mountain View, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority and many other partners at the celebration.
“Our voters and residents had the foresight to see the need to fund affordable housing,” Abe-Koga said. “We’ve exceeded our goal. The goal was for 4,800 units. We will actually build more than 5,800 units.”
Measure A addresses the twin crises of housing affordability and homelessness in Santa Clara County. It provides affordable housing, and a stable foothold in our community, for individuals and families who struggle to afford the high cost of housing in Silicon Valley. It also creates permanent supportive housing for people who are chronically homeless, including veterans, young people and seniors.
It is part of the County's mission to make our region a more sustainable and equitable place to live.
The County is in the ninth year of Measure A implementation. As of May, there were 2,810 units of affordable housing in operation and 1,063 units under construction, with 606 units breaking ground over the next six months.
For more information on the affordable housing bond, visit the County’s Measure A webpage. You can also watch a video that spotlights five people who live in housing funded by Measure A.