Alta Housing Opens All-Electric Community| Housing Finance Magazine

Alta Housing recently celebrated the opening of a 59-unit affordable housing community in Palo Alto, California. It is the nonprofit’s first all-electric development.

Wilton Court Apartments provides independent living for a mix of single and two-person households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income. Twenty-one units are reserved for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities seeking an independent-living environment. The property also has an on-site manager.

“We are very excited to welcome residents to this beautiful, new residential community, which brings permanent, high-quality, affordable housing to many special members of our local community,” said Randy Tsuda, Alta Housing’s president and CEO. “We are grateful to our stakeholders who have supported our efforts to deliver much-needed affordable housing to Palo Alto.”

Alta Housing has partnered with nonprofits Housing Choices Coalition and San Andreas Regional Center to better serve the residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities. PAHC Management and Services and Housing Choices are providing resident services, including case management, activities to promote resident engagement, health and wellness programs, and assistance accessing community resources.

Organized as an L-shape atop a garage, the building steps down toward the neighborhood and creates a generous landscaped courtyard sheltered from street traffic. An accent wall provides privacy for residents and neighbors and, with a lighted overhead trellis, creates a cozy outdoor room. The ground floor also contains a community kitchen, an activity room with a computer lab, common laundry facilities, package storage, and management offices.

Residents are within walking distance of a grocery store, retail and restaurants, parks, and public bus transportation. Wilton Court is also situated in the top-rated Palo Alto Unified School District and near a range of community services, employment centers, and higher education.

With a nod to sustainability, each unit has its own water meter, and the community has a rooftop photovoltaic system and solar hot water panels. The property includes native plants and drought-tolerant landscaping. It has eight electric vehicle charging stations.

The art at the property features local mural artist Morgan Bricca, Palo Alto-based fine art painter Ruth-Anne Seigel, and Oakland-based artist Martin Webb.

Wilton Court was designed by PYATOK architects, and the general contractor was L&D Construction Co. The Guzzardo Partnership was the landscape architect.

Financing for the $46.3 million development was provided by the city of Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, Wells Fargo Bank, Enterprise Community Partners, California Community Reinvestment Corp., California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, California Department of Housing and Community Development, and California Municipal Finance Authority.

Alta Housing builds, develops, acquires, and manages low- and moderate-income housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The nonprofit serves more than 2,600 residents and has 530 units in its development pipeline with four projects in various phases of development in nearby Mountain View and two in Redwood City.