Camino del Rey – Santa Clara Seniors Affordable Housing Project Fully Occupied at Opening

RENTV.COM

June 10, 2014

Camino del Rey Senior Apartments, a new seniors affordable housing development in Santa Clara, has just opened its doors. Developed by ROEM Corporation, the project contains 48 one-bedroom apartments that are affordable to seniors with annual incomes at or below 60% of the Santa Clara County Area Median Income.

Located at 2525 El Camino Real, west of I-880 and San Jose International Airport, the $15 mil development consists of a three-story “C” shaped building, wrapped around a landscaped courtyard, which is also an outdoor extension of the community room. The building’s architectural character pays homage to the mission-style Santa Clara and the El Camino Real Corridor is known for.

Contrasting materials and details with subtle punches of accent color can be found throughout the property. Amenities include a community room with kitchen, a computer room, a fitness center, a laundry facility, a courtyard area with barbecue, community gardens, benches, lighting and landscaping, a gate, and fencing.

“Providing affordable housing for our community is a very important City Council priority, and we are happy to see this high quality project completed,” said Santa Clara Mayor Jamie L. Matthews. “This project is an excellent example of what the private and public sectors can accomplish by working together to meet affordable housing needs.” The City’s Housing Authority continues to look for opportunities to create more senior apartments — housing that will be safe, affordable, have easy access to public transportation and shopping, and meet senior needs.

A primary goal of the landscape design is to create a sense of privacy through visual landscape screening by providing considerable landscape enhancements along the shared property lines and El Camino Real. The visual landscaping techniques used at Camino del Rey provide a continuous canopy of shade along the street and contribute to the inviting curbside appeal. Landscaped areas also incorporate layers of planting, including evergreen foundation planting, perennial foreground beds, and trees to enhance the building elevations.

Designed by KTGY Group Inc, Camino del Rey Senior Apartments is an environmentally-sensitive development. Currently, Camino del Rey Senior Apartments is pursuing a U.S. Green Building Council LEED-H Platinum certification. The community was designed to specifically reduce the amount of space dedicated to parking while still meeting the minimum requirements of 0.7 spaces/unit. This ultimately makes Camino del Rey more environmentally-friendly by reducing the amount of paved surface area needed, creates more open space. Residents are incentivized to use other means of transportation to reach nearby retail stores and businesses, such as the SaveMart and Palo Alto Medical Foundation situated across the street from the development.

AEGON USA Realty Advisors is an investment partner in the development, the seventh such project that they’ve teamed up with ROEM to build. The project was already 100% occupied at opening.

The residential courtyard is comprised of a variety of multi-use spaces for the enjoyment of the residents, including a dining terrace with outdoor barbecue, community gardens, seating areas, fire pit, and picnic facilities. These spaces are well integrated into a generous garden setting, with significant tree, shrub, vines and flowering perennial plantings, providing shade and an attractive buffer to neighboring residences. Decorative planters are placed near the residents’ patios and bedrooms to provide color and privacy, creating an intimate scale to the garden. Lighting on the residential podium have shielded light sources with sharp photometric cut-offs to minimize glare and direct light onto the garden and plaza areas, creating a warm and inviting space for the residents to enjoy.

Camino del Rey Senior Apartments is financed with 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bond financing made possible by Freddie Mac Credit Enhancement Program. ROEM and Pacific Housing Inc have partnered with the Citi Community Capital, AEGON USA Realty Advisors LLC and the City of Santa Clara for financial support on the project. The City of Santa Clara invested $7 mil in the development. The general contractor is ROEM Builders Inc.