Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Orchard Gardens resident, Althea Roy, with daughter Felicia, talks about how happy she is to have found an affordable and attractive home. Silicon Manufacturing Group President and CEO, Carl Guardino looks on.
City kicks in share for affordable housing
Funds to help address growing housing concerns
By Daniel Hindin
The city of Sunnyvale presented a $500,000 donation on Sept. 19, to the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County (HTSCC). The goal of the HTSCC is to raise $20 million in two years in order to bridge the financial gap for housing ownership and rental housing access for 5,000 people.
Together, the principal supporters of the trust--The Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (SVMG), Santa Clara County, Community Foundation Silicon Valley, American Electronics Association and The Santa Clara County Collaborative on Housing and Homelessness--have already raised almost $15 million in donations from corporations and cities all over Silicon Valley in less than a year.
President and CEO of SVMG Carl Guardino said, "At the rate we're going we should be able to reach our goal in just 16 months, instead of our original timeline of 24 months." But once they reach that goal, they're not going to stop, he said. As soon as they reach $20 million, they will set a new goal for another $20 million.
While the campaign--co-chaired by Craig R. Barnett, CEO of the Intel Corporation, and Tony Ridder, CEO of Knight-Ridder--has concentrated its efforts on securing donations from large corporations and public institutions for the first $20 million, it will shift its focus to include small- and medium-sized businesses, individuals and families and community-based organizations for the next $20 million.
Besides the $500,000 Sunnyvale donated to the trust, it funded a $1.5-million-affordable housing complex in the northern part of the city. Orchard Gardens is located between the Central Expressway and U.S. 101 at 245 W. Weddell Dr.
Just before Sunnyvale Mayor Pat Vorreiter handed over the giant-sized check to interim project director of HTSCC Paul Wysocki, Guardino joked, "When I was told we were going to hold this thing at Orchard Gardens, I said 'But Orchard Gardens isn't an affordable housing complex; it's too nice to qualify as affordable housing.' "
Vorreiter emphasized the level of quality that affordable housing can achieve for families. "This isn't about affordable housing, it's about affordable homes," she said.
The city of Sunnyvale is working to make more affordable housing complexes such as Orchard Gardens a reality. But places similar to Orchard Gardens have two- and three-year waiting lists. With more funding, the HTSCC hopes to make quality affordable housing more easily accessible for a greater number of people.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
