MADERA - The City of Madera has announced a grant award in the amount $11.3 million from the California Strategic Growth Council for a proposed downtown housing project. The California Strategic Growth Council, on June 21, 2019, awarded more than $402 million from the innovative Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program to 25 new community development projects around the state. Funding for the AHSC program is derived from cap and trade proceeds.
This was the first time a project from Madera applied for this highly competitive funding opportunity. The Madera project was the highest scoring project from the San Joaquin Valley, and one of the highest in the state. "This is truly a major accomplishment for Madera, it will change the face of our downtown and serve as an impetus for additional investment in Madera.
It shows what a community that works together can accomplish,” said Madera Mayor Andrew Medellin. The funds will go towards the construction of a 48-unit community that will provide affordable housing options for veterans, seniors and families. The project includes two three-story buildings in Downtown Madera, just north of Yosemite Avenue.
The project sites are publicly owned vacant infill parcels. Approximately $3.8 million of the award will go directly to the City of Madera for transit, pedestrian and bike improvements throughout downtown, including 27,000 linear feet of new sidewalks, and an adult bike share program to be implemented by the Madera Police Department.
A large network of community stakeholders and funding partners worked on the project for over a year including the Successor Agency of the Former Redevelopment Agency, Madera County Veterans Service Office, Madera County Behavioral Health, Housing Authority of Madera, Community Action Partnership of Madera County, Madera County Transportation Commission, Madera Downtown Association, Madera County Arts Council, Madera Unified School District, and many others.
MORES and Pacific West Communities are the developers for the project. Development services resulting in the grant award were provided by Sigala Inc., a local urban planning and real estate firm.
