Preserving Oakland as the Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive City it is Today Through Our Housing Acquisition Fund
“Our long-term vision is for an Oakland that works for everyone, particularly the residents that have made it the vibrant, diverse, inclusive city it is today.” – Joshua Simon, CEO of East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC).
Achieving this vision for Oakland will require all of us to think differently about how to tackle the affordable housing crisis we’re facing. That’s why in 2015, EBALDC launched the Housing Acquisition Fund — an innovative and replicable new model for preserving and expanding quality affordable housing in Oakland.
We are excited to announce that EBALDC recently acquired four new properties as part of the Housing Acquisition Fund. The purchases will stabilize affordable rents for 73 units in Oakland, helping long-time, low-income residents stay in their homes.
The acquisitions were made possible through a combination of financing from National Equity Fund (NEF) and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), and through the Housing for Health Fund from Kaiser Permanente and Enterprise Community Partners. This brings the total number of properties in the Housing Acquisition Fund portfolio to nine, allowing EBALDC to help make sure residents in 257 units are able to stay in their homes and communities. EBALDC is hoping to grow this number to 2,000 apartments in the city over the next decade.
Located in the Adams Point, East Lake, Mosswood and Chinatown neighborhoods of Oakland, communities on the brink — if not in the midst — of gentrification, the properties acquired were previously priced at market rate. Affordable rents at these buildings will now be stabilized for tenants who were at risk of displacement.
EBALDC again partnered with Kaiser Permanente and Enterprise Community Partners through the Housing for Health Fund for the acquisition of one of the buildings in the portfolio purchased this year, stabilizing 33 units. The fund was created in 2019 as a segment of Kaiser Permanente’s $200 million commitment to tackling housing insecurity through their Thriving Communities Fund. EBALDC used NEF’s Preservation Fund to finance the debt on all four acquisitions which provides bridge financing for affordable properties. CZI funds supported the acquisition of three of the buildings in the portfolio purchase.
EBALDC is grateful to these institutions and organizations for their forward-thinking partnership and leadership in lifting up this effective model for preservation and heartened to have the opportunity to work with our communities and fellow community developers to build healthy, vibrant and safe neighborhoods where everyone has a place to call home.
To learn more about EBALDC’s unique approach to community development, visit ebaldc.org/about-us/healthy-neighborhoods/.