Affordable Modesto Housing Project Archway Commons II Breaks Ground, Adding 74 Rental Units
The Modesto Bee
By Kristina Karisch | July 1, 2021
Construction kicked off Wednesday on Archway Commons II, the second phase of a Modesto affordable housing development that will bring 74 new rental apartments to the city.
“To create an economically healthy, sustainable and thriving community, a city must have housing that is affordable for everyone,” Mayor Sue Zwahlen said at the groundbreaking. “We are thrilled to see 74 more new multi-unit family units being built right here.”
The apartments will sit directly next to Archway Commons I, a 76-unit complex on Carver Road that was completed in 2014. EAH Housing, the nonprofit developer, has been working with the city since 2008 to build a total of 150 affordable housing units in Modesto.
The new, two-story buildings will contain one-, two- and three-bedroom rental apartments available to tenants whose income is at or below 30-60% of the area median income. Amenities — a community room, computer lab, pool and playground, among others — will be shared with Archway Commons I.
Construction on the project is expected to take around 18 months, said EAH Housing President and CEO Laura Hall. She said the second phase of the project comes at a time when the statewide housing shortage is being felt more acutely than ever.
“What used to be more of a coast and urban (issue) is creeping inward,” Hall told The Bee. “Affordable housing is needed everywhere, and being able to do 74 units today, I wish we could do 74 units every day. We could continue to build for the next 10 years and still have the need” for affordable housing.
Hall added that the project would not have been possible without the city’s assistance and partnership.
EAH Housing was awarded $14.2 million from the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program to fund the project. The funding also will be allocated to Ninth Street corridor improvements that will connect the neighborhood with the Modesto Downtown Transit Center and Modesto Junior College, as well as modify a bus route to better serve residents.
“Modesto is tackling this situation head on, creating solutions to keep housing affordable, making sure that people of all income levels can live here, work here and put down roots here,” Hall said.
Zwahlen said during the event that the Stanislaus Council of Governments estimates a citywide housing need of 6,700 units.
Projects like Archway Commons, she added, align with the city’s “five-year strategic plan to implement a comprehensive housing strategy and leverage alternative revenue sources.”
“We enthusiastically welcome this new affordable housing project, and consider it an asset to have Archway Commons and other affordable housing projects in our community to ensure that all Modestans have a variety of housing options regardless of their incomes,” she said.
*Image courtesy of Andy Alfaro at the Modesto Bee
