City Housing Opportunities on the Move

by ROGER GITLIN

Crescent City is experiencing a veritable housing explosion over the past 18 months, with yet another project now moving forward. All I can say is—whew!

The newest development, Redwood Downtown, has been announced. Design work is expected to be completed in the next three months, with construction finished by 2028.

The project stems from the 2017 Building Homes and Jobs Act, which created a $75 recording fee on real-estate documents to fund affordable housing. Through the Act’s Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program—administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)—the City was awarded $344,198.

In 2023, Crescent City was also awarded the Pro Housing Incentive Program (PIP) designation, receiving an additional $650,000. Combined, the City now has over $1 million designated for housing and has applied to HCD to begin work on the first four-plex unit.

What Redwood Downtown Includes

The Redwood Downtown project is expected to cost $11 million and will include:

• 27 mixed-income residential units
• 1 utility unit
• 2 retail spaces

The project sits on the former Daly Bros. Department Store site on 3rd Street, now long vacant.

Other Housing Projects Nearing Completion

Several additional housing developments across the city are either finished or near opening:

• Roosevelt Estates — Final Phase 3 Certificate of Occupancy issued for 56 family units
• Harbor Point — Certificate of Occupancy issued last month for 26 senior units + manager’s unit
• Battery Point — Expected in 2026, adding 120 family units and 40 senior units

Total new housing units: 242.

Income Levels and Funding Structure

“The additional units from Redwood Downtown will be scaffolded into modest-, moderate-, and upper-income categories to determine monthly rents,” said project lead Mike Bahr of Community Systems Solutions.

Expected income brackets include:

• Category I: $30,800
• Category III: $74,000

Bahr stated that CSS will seek $8.25 million (75% of the project cost) from HCD. The remainder is expected to come from PLHA and PIP funds in the form of tax credits. He noted Crescent City will have little or no financial risk in the project.

Finally, Bahr confirmed he is working with Crandall/Arambula Associates on Crescent City’s twenty-year downtown Specific Plan, of which Redwood Downtown will be a key component.