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Tri-Valley Opportunity Center
Calistoga Affordable Housing
Site Visit with Calvert Foundation
Green Music Center
CDFI Grant


The Tri-Valley Housing Opportunity Center—Helping Families Find Homes


The Tri-Valley Housing Opportunity Center (TVHOC), through its housing counseling, asset development and financial literacy education programs, helps area residents gain access to affordable for-sale and rental housing. Created in 2005 by the municipal and county governments of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville, TVHOC primarily serves low- to moderate-income families earning 50%-80% of area median income (AMI), or $37,700 to $59,600. “Our program is unique in that the various cities, despite their own political agendas, have come together to build a one-stop center for the region to help with housing resources and to connect people to projects,” says Jacqueline Rickman, TVHOC Director.

The Center’s “Family Stability Program” is often the entry point for clients needing extra support in their housing search. Clients receive financial literacy training, credit and homebuyer counseling. “We are here to make sure the client is successful in their ownership goals and that they are getting the best deal,” explains Rickman. “They are going through a very stressful process and in many cases need hand holding and support.” The Center has already made a significant impact with 63 families having purchased homes.

Equally impressive is the fact that TVHOC does its work with limited financial support from public and private funds. Instead, the organization relies primarily on its fee-for-service business model and income from local government and developer contracts. The Center contracts with cities to manage down payment assistance and inclusionary housing programs and with developers to provide marketing services and assistance with reselling below market rate (BMR) units.

The Northern California Community Loan Fund recently provided TVHOC with a $662,265 loan to help finance the acquisition of a mixed-use property in Livermore that will partially serve as the organization’s new office space. TVHOC will use the first floor of one of the buildings for its offices, and will retain an already existing low-income residential tenant in the upstairs unit. “Without NCCLF’s acquisition loan, we would have been forced to pay rent elsewhere, and renting is not a way of building self-sufficiency over the long term,” Rickman explains.

In the future, TVHOC plans to expand its housing, asset development, resale, and post-purchase programs. The agency also aims to move further into Alameda and Contra Costa counties, delivering more multi-lingual assistance and increasing its number of counselors. “I see us growing,” says Rickman, “and having our own building facility will help us a great deal.”

“TVHOC’s services are essential, especially during the current mortgage crisis,” adds Mary A. Rogier, NCCLF President. “We’re delighted to support TVHOC’s ability to help so many low-income and working families who need counseling and support to get through this difficult time.”


Calistoga Affordable Housing Set to Build 24 More Units

In 2001, Calistoga Affordable Housing (CAH), a nonprofit affordable housing developer and advocacy organization, set out to increase the number of affordable housing units in the city of Calistoga to help low-income residents affected by rising property values and rents. Six years later, CAH’s impact includes the creation of 26 units and the planned development of the Palisades Apartments, a 24-unit complex for which NCCLF provided a $169,898 pre-development general recourse loan. “NCCLF’s loan was critical in order for us to meet an important financial deadline,” explains Erica Roetman Sklar, CAH’s Executive Director. “The funds arrived literally the day before the payment was due to secure full title to the architectural plans required for a critical permanent financing application.”

CAH’s planned 24-unit project, set on 1.13 acres, began with the City of Calistoga’s in-lieu requirement of Auberge Resorts to set aside land for housing in exchange for permission to build an 89-cottage luxury resort on an adjacent 25-acre property. Residents earning 40%-60% of area median income (AMI) will be eligible for the apartments, which will be built in partnership with Burbank Housing Development Corporation (BHDC), a highly experienced developer and NCCLF customer. The project’s total cost is estimated $8.2 million and will be financed with a bank loan and various government sources.

CAH’s first project was an 18-unit “self-help” homeownership complex completed in 2005 known as Saratoga Manor II. “This was the first time an affordable housing project had been done in the city in 15 years,” Sklar explains. “It was a huge success with a lottery held at the local high school for the 40 people pre-qualified for the 18 available spots. Everyone was in tears.” Today, the residents run their own homeowners association and receive leadership training from CAH with assistance from BHDC and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation.

In early 2007, CAH completed its second successful project—the purchase and renovation of an 8-unit rental complex for already existing low-income families. “Sinks were being held up with duct tape,” says Sklar. Conditions at the complex improved drastically after CAH’s renovation. One of Sklar’s many success stories is that of a resident child whose chronic asthma attacks ended after the apartments were renovated and carpets replaced.

CAH’s future plans include building moderate-priced homes and another larger “self-help” project. In the meantime, CAH awaits final permanent financing approval for the Palisades Apartments before construction can begin. “Our staff’s ability to complete CAH’s loan underwriting and closing quickly allowed CAH to get their permanent loan application off in time,” says Ross Culverwell, NCCLF Senior Loan Officer. “Once permanent financing is approved, CAH will be able to move ahead with the project in a region that has an acute demand for affordable housing.


Bay Area Site Visit with Calvert Foundation

In September, NCCLF’s Director of Resource Development, Sherry Simmons, welcomed the Calvert Foundation’s Elizabeth Sessler to the Bay Area with a tour of five NCCLF borrower building sites. The Calvert Foundation, an innovative Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) located in Bethesda, Maryland, is also a long-term NCCLF investor.

The site tour began in Oakland at The Altenheim, a historic senior housing facility built in the early 1890’s for retired German settlers. Today, thanks to the work of NCCLF borrower Citizens Housing Corporation (CHC), the previously neglected facility is now a fully restored affordable housing complex with 93 units for low-income seniors. An additional 81 affordable senior units are being built as part of a second phase of development on the campus. In 2005, NCCLF provided CHC with a $590,000 loan to finance a portion of the acquisition and predevelopment costs for the renovation and expansion of The Altenheim.

Next stop was another Citizens Housing Corporation project currently in construction at the corner of 18th and Alabama Streets in San Francisco’s Mission District. The 150-unit mixed-income rental and for-sale affordable housing project will include apartments for seniors and large families, and will also include 15,000 sq. ft. of community /commercial space. NCCLF loaned CHC $527,000 in 2003 to finance the acquisition and predevelopment of the project.

The tour also included the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (TNDC) Curran House. The 9-story mixed-use Curran House development includes 67 affordable family apartments, two small storefront retail spaces, and 6,000 square feet of basement office space for TNDC offices for which NCCLF granted $50,000 to develop.

We welcome requests for site visits. Please contact Sherry Simmons, Director of Resource Development, at 415-392-8215, ext. 307.


Green Music Center Taking Shape

Construction of the 105,435-square-foot Green Music Center, a part of the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park, California, continues on schedule. The world-class concert hall will be home to the Santa Rosa Symphony and the University's expanding music and performing arts programs. The Center will also accommodate performances by community groups, and Greenfarm, the performing arts educational programs of music of the center for students of all ages and backgrounds.

NCCLF’s Performing Arts Program granted Santa Rosa Symphony $500,000 toward development of the Green Music Center.


Nearly $1 million Grant from CDFI Fund

NCCLF proudly announces a grant award of $954,500 from the United States Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The 2007 round of the CDFI Fund Awards provided over $27 million to 68 community-based financial institutions in 30 states and the District of Columbia. NCCLF was one of only six organizations to be awarded more than $900,000 and was selected through a competitive review of 184 applications from organizations nationwide.

The award includes $860,000 in lending capital and $94,500 in technical assistance toward the website development for our real estate matchmaking service, OrgSpaces.org. It is NCCLF’s seventh such award since the inception of the CDFI Fund by the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994.




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