SANTA MONICA—On April 29, the Executive Director of the Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCOSM) Tara Barauskas, announced that on Friday, April 26, they broke ground on Santa Monica’s newest affordable housing development, Berkeley Station.
The 13-unit facility is expected to house Santa Monica residents who are of modest means, veterans, and at-risk young adults aging out of foster care.
According to Barauskas, “Berkeley Station is an exciting, innovative project and represents two firsts for us, our first development specifically for vulnerable youth as well as our first modular development (made in a factory). This is a great example of the type of housing that needs to be built to help alleviate Santa Monica’s affordable housing crisis.”
The City of Santa Monica and the CCOSM are partnering on this project. Community leaders present at Friday’s groundbreaking include Santa Monica Councilmembers, Democratic Caucus Chair, and Santa Monica Assemblymember, Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood-51st District).
Chavez Zbur made the following statement, the full text of which may be seen on his website:
“One of the most cost-effective and compassionate ways of reducing the number of Californians experiencing homelessness is to empower people to stay in their homes.
Chavez Zbur jointly co-authored The California Security Act, AB 2498 with Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-La Palma).
“AB 2498 would create a statewide housing subsidy program to allow some of our most vulnerable people to remain ‘housed,’ while experiencing challenging and often life-altering circumstances. I’d like to thank Assemblymember Quirk-Silva for her leadership in prioritizing homelessness prevention and for her commitment to addressing the housing and homelessness crisis with real solutions,” Chavez Zbur continued.
The following came directly from the press release, the full text of which is posted on the City of Santa Monica webpage:
“Santa Monica continues to be a leader in finding innovative, sustainable, and compassionate ways to address the homelessness and housing crisis,” said Phil Brock, mayor of Santa Monica. “It is so important that our transition-age youth and low-income families have a safe and stable place to live, and Berkeley Station will provide these households with that secure foundation so they can thrive.”
“Berkeley Station is a model of the type of affordable housing we need to be building across California,” said Sen. Ben Allen, (D-Santa Monica). “I want to recognize and thank Community Corporation for its commitment to the most vulnerable here in our community.”
“We are extremely excited to work with Community Corporation of Santa Monica on their first prefabricated development,” said Steve Glenn, founder and CEO of Plant Prefab. “Berkeley Station will be built at our new factory in Tejon Ranch utilizing techniques that offer a more sustainable and time and cost-efficient way to create affordable, temporary, and transitional housing.”
Berkeley Station was reportedly designed to meet LEED Gold Standards with the amenities including a community garden, laundry facilities, a rooftop deck, a community room, Energy Star appliances, and solar panels.
By Sharon