Los Angeles, CA — Standard Communities, the affordable housing division of Standard Companies, a full-service investment and asset management firm, is pleased to announce that its Lakeside Village property has been selected as a finalist for the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) 2018 Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award, which honors exemplary developments that ensure housing affordability. Finalists were selected by a jury of nationally-renowned housing experts.

Utilizing innovative capital solutions and strong partnerships with residents and local authorities, Standard Communities converted the 840-unit property from market-rate apartments to a community of newly renovated, high-quality affordable homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lakeside Village is the largest market-to-affordable conversion in California history.

Preserving Affordability While Building Community

Lakeside Village is located in San Leandro, on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. The community consists of 840 units across 48 residential and amenity buildings, including a modern clubhouse that hosts programs including child care, health and wellness classes, adult education initiatives, career counseling, and a community garden. There are three swimming pools and several playgrounds on site, as well. As part of the conversion from market-rate to affordable housing, Standard Communities completed a comprehensive renovation, which were the first significant physical improvements to the site and units since the late 1960s. The unit interiors were renovated, the exteriors were modernized, and building systems were upgraded. Housing costs near Lakeside Village, and throughout the Bay Area, have grown exponentially in recent years, and the conversion of this property to dedicated affordable housing has kept rents approximately $400 below those of similar market-rate properties.

“Standard Communities is committed to the creation, preservation, and improvement of affordable housing, and Lakeside Village is a very large success story by those measures. To be able to provide Lakeside’s more than 1,400 residents with a home that they can be proud of in a supportive community – and that will be affordable to the average working-class family for the next 50 years – in one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States is a victory not just for Standard, but for the residents of Lakeside and the entire Bay-area workforce,” said Standard Co-Founder Jeffrey Jaeger. “We are very proud to be involved in building strong, supportive communities and honored to be a finalist for this reward. Standard’s construction and asset management teams did an incredible job of fostering a strong sense of community among residents during the renovation, which was carefully choreographed so that nobody was displaced as the property was upgraded,” added Scott Alter, also a co-founder of Standard.

Establishing a Lasting Legacy in Affordable Housing

ULI established the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award in 2008, naming the award in memory of Jack Kemp, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Terwilliger Center national advisory board member. The award is given annually to affordable and workforce housing developments that represent outstanding achievements in several areas, including affordability, innovative financing and building technologies, proximity to employment centers and transportation hubs, quality of design, involvement of public or private partnerships, and replicability of the development, among other criteria.

“We are thrilled that Standard Communities’ efforts are being recognized by an organization that promotes responsible land use and the creation of sustaining, thriving communities,” commented Jaeger. “Having ULI’s support, and now their accolade, is immensely rewarding, and we look forward to perpetuating the outstanding work that garnered us this acknowledgment.”

About Standard Companies

Standard Communities is the affordable housing division of Standard Companies, a full-service investment and asset management firm that operates in sectors where it has developed expertise. Based in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Standard Communities works to create, preserve, and improve affordable and workforce housing nationwide. Standard Communities currently owns more than 7,400 affordable units and has completed more than $1 billion of acquisitions and rehabilitations, including 18 separate LIHTC transactions, since inception.

 

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