Preserving Affordable Housing. Keeping Families Housed.
As part of our vision for an East Bay where everyone has a place to call home, EBALDC launched the Housing Acquisition Fund (HAF) in 2015. HAF is designed to preserve and expand quality affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families and individuals in the East Bay.
One of those properties is Highland Palms.
Highland Palms was purchased in 2017 with support from The San Francisco Foundation, NeighborWorks Capital and Community Housing Capital, and later refinanced with Enterprise Community Loan Fund, the City of Oakland, and First Republic Bank.
In June, a fire roared through Highland Palms Apartments, a 23-unit apartment complex in East Oakland, rendering it completely uninhabitable.
Immediately, EBALDC’s Property Management (PM) and Resident and Community Services (RCS) teams were onsite to ensure all residents were safe and to coordinate with the Red Cross, their immediate temporary relocation and provide food and supply vouchers. Security was set up to ensure that our residents’ belongings were secured. RCS teams communicated daily with our residents to ascertain their needs and to provide emotional support. Our PM teams began the process of finding permanent or long-term temporary housing within EBALDC’s housing portfolio or with that of other affordable housing communities.
In the meantime, Amazon and JPMorgan Chase agreed to redirect most or some of their funding to support the Highland Palms Fire Relocation efforts. As a result, within a couple of months, and now heading into the holiday season, EBALDC was able to place a majority of residents into new homes and provide much needed support, including gift cards.
One of those residents is Valerie Gail Perry.
How long have you lived at Highland Palms?
I have lived at Highland Palms for five years.
How did things change once EBALDC purchased the apartment?
It got much better. The other property managers left everything dirty — garbage was everywhere and the laundry rooms were a mess and disgusting. Once it switched, the common areas improved. Property management is quick to fix all the issues faced, both personally and communally.
Tell us about the night of the fire.
My daughter was the one that reported the fire. Things were hectic but she was able to save a lot of lives by warning everyone and calling the fire department and police.
Where are you living now?
We are living at Hismen Hin-Nu Terrace, which is another EBALDC property. I love that I was able to stay with EBALDC.
What are your holiday plans?
We are headed to my sister’s house – her birthday is on Thanksgiving Day. It should be a fun family gathering.
On Giving Tuesday (November 30th), we will officially launch our End-of-Year Campaign. Funds raised will help us dig deeper into our work to realize our vision of a healthy and vibrant Oakland and East Bay. Of course, you don’t have to wait until November 30th or the end of the year. At EBALDC, our work doesn’t stop because of funding cycles. It will only stop when the need stops.
In community,
Your EBALDC Family