It should be a little bit easier to find due to a recent boom in\u00a0affordable housing construction<\/a>\u00a0in the nation, according to apartment rental website RentCafe.<\/p>\n Nearly 310,000 new affordable apartments were built in\u00a0the United States\u00a0over the past five years, with nearly a third delivered in 2024, RentCafe said, calling it \u201can unprecedented surge.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, nearly 14% of all new apartments were income-restricted, an increase of nearly 9% from a decade earlier.<\/p>\n There\u2019s \u201ca growing emphasis on affordability in new development,\u201d RentCafe real estate writer\u00a0Florin Petrut\u00a0wrote in a\u00a0Jan. 27\u00a0article.<\/p>\n Affordable housing on the rise in\u00a0Central Valley<\/p>\n The Central Valley\u00a0\u201cboasts one of the highest growths in affordable housing in the state,\u201d Petrut said, \u201cwhile more than a third of all new construction is dedicated to income restricted units, surpassing most other\u00a0California\u00a0(metropolitan areas).\u201d<\/p>\n A total of 3,792 affordable apartments were built in the region between 2020 and 2024, according to RentCafe.<\/p>\n That represents 37.4% of the total number of apartments completed in the\u00a0Central Valley\u00a0during that time period: 10,130 units, the RentCafe study found.<\/p>\n That makes the\u00a0Central Valley\u00a0the fourth biggest builder of affordable housing units in\u00a0California, and 24th nationwide.<\/p>\n According to RentCafe, the\u00a0Central Valley\u00a0recorded a \u201cwhopping\u201d 145% increase in affordable apartment construction compared to previous years.<\/p>\n A total of 1,545 affordable units were built in the region between 2015 and 2019, the study found.<\/p>\n Affordable apartments accounted for more than a third of all construction in\u00a0San Francisco, the\u00a0Central Valley\u00a0and the\u00a0Central Coast, RentCafe said, noting that affordable units in those areas more than doubled after the COVID\u201319 pandemic.<\/p>\n In contrast, income-restricted units made up one fifth of new builds in other regions, according to the RentCafe study.<\/p>\n How livable in\u00a0Fresno?<\/p>\n In January, RentCafe named\u00a0Fresno\u00a0as one of the\u00a0least livable metro areas<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0the United States, due in part to high living costs and low income growth,\u00a0The Fresno Bee\u00a0previously reported.<\/p>\n A study presented to the\u00a0Fresno City Council\u00a0in 2025 showed that the area north of\u00a0Shaw Avenue\u00a0was the site of most of\u00a0Fresno\u2019s new multifamily housing<\/a>\u00a0over a 12-year period, while land next to existing neighborhoods in southwest\u00a0Fresno\u00a0saw no new single-famiy home construction.<\/p>\n RentCafe\u2019s\u00a0Jan. 27\u00a0study found that most of the growth in affordable housing across the nation was driven by expanded public funding and policy support.<\/p>\n That national trend is reflected in\u00a0Fresno, where several affordable housing projects are planned across the city.<\/p>\n Where are new housing projects in\u00a0Fresno?<\/p>\n Two new affordable housing projects in\u00a0Fresno\u00a0recently opened, providing 100 new units of housing.<\/p>\n Blythe Village<\/a>, which opened\u00a0Feb. 2, offers 67 single-family units in west central\u00a0Fresno, according to a\u00a0Facebook\u00a0post by\u00a0Fresno\u00a0Mayor\u00a0Jerry Dryer.<\/p>\n \u201cBlythe Village is not considered the norm in the housing world,\u201d Dyer said in a video shared via\u00a0Facebook. \u201cThis is something that is unique, it is something that is out of the box, and from the moment you arrive\u00a0Blythe Village\u00a0feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n He described the gated-access community as \u201ca place where families can feel safe, establish their roots. And a place where kids can create lifelong friends.\u201d<\/p>\n Blythe Village\u00a0was built in 17 months, and offers covered parking, electric vehicle charging stations, a playground and \u201cfree-standing homes with no shared walls,\u201d Dyer said in the video.<\/p>\n \u201cBlythe Village is a community that reflects a dignity, privacy, and quality of life that every single family in our community deserves,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that is what inclusivity looks like in our community. And this is how we keep families from\u00a0Fresno\u00a0in Fresno.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresno\u00a0motel converted into affordable apartments<\/p>\n Fresno\u00a0celebrated the opening of the\u00a0City Studios\u00a0affordable housing project<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Feb. 3\u00a0after some slight construction delays due to supply chain issues and\u00a0PG&E\u00a0energization, Dyer said in an Instagram post.<\/p>\n The project converted the former Travelodge motel at\u00a03876 North Blackstone Ave.\u00a0into\u00a033 units of affordable housing<\/a>\u00a0for those at risk of becoming unhoused or experiencing homelessness, according to a\u00a0Jan. 29\u00a0Facebook\u00a0post by Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias.<\/p>\n City Studios\u00a0has studio apartments and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for families.<\/p>\n The city invested $4.7 million into the project and worked with faith-based nonprofit organization\u00a0Fresno Rescue Mission<\/a>\u00a0to provide housing for youth in foster care, according to Dyer\u2019s post.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was once a deteriorated motel has now been transformed into a place where families will proudly call home,\u201d Dyer said in the post showing the ribbon cutting ceremony for the community. \u201cQuite frankly this was drug-infested, infested with human trafficking, and to be able to see what\u2019s been transformed into is something that is absolutely remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what it looks like when we invest in people and build a city where everyone, regardless of race or age, has a place to call home,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n Where could affordable apartments be built in\u00a0Fresno?<\/p>\n Fresno\u2019s city council recently approved a\u00a0$10.5 million contribution<\/a>\u00a0and the lease of three city-owned properties to develop affordable housing, The Bee previously reported.<\/p>\n The project,\u00a0Parkview Apartments<\/a>, was proposed by the\u00a0Cesar Chavez Foundation\u00a0and aims to add up to 98 new homes along the Parkway Drive Corridor, The Bee reported.<\/p>\n The site currently features a vacant lot and two motels \u2014 the\u00a0Travel Inn\u00a0and\u00a0Villa Motel\u00a0\u2014 that were turned into homeless shelters. They would be converted into rental housing for households that earn up to 80% of the area\u2019s median income, The Bee reported.<\/p>\n The city bought the motels during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide temporary shelter, with plans to turn them into permanent affordable housing within five or six years, The Bee reported.<\/p>\n \u201cParkview will provide high quality, service-enhanced housing for low-income households, including families and individuals experiencing homelessness, with 48 units supported by project-based vouchers,\u201d\u00a0Cesar Chavez Foundation\u00a0spokesperson\u00a0Marc Grossman\u00a0told The Bee via email.<\/p>\n The project will offer 52 studio apartments, 44 one-bedroom units, and two two-bedroom manager units across two separate sites, Grossman said, with on-site support services including case management, life skills training, employment and educational assistance, health and wellness programs.<\/p>\n According to the city, approval and construction of\u00a0Parkview Apartments\u00a0is dependent on whether the\u00a0Cesar Chavez Foundation\u00a0obtains full funding for the project by the end of the year.<\/p>\n Affordable housing projects like this \u201ctypically require at least five funding sources, which makes assembling all the sources very difficult, especially on a tight deadline,\u201d Grossman said. \u201cTax credits are extremely competitive, so it is commonplace for a project not to be awarded on the first try. Construction costs keep rising, potentially making the project infeasible, particularly as more time passes.\u201d<\/p>\n Operational costs such as staff, insurance, mortgage, utilities and repairs also increase over time, he said.<\/p>\n Fresno\u00a0seeks developer for affordable tiny homes<\/p>\n Fresno\u00a0is also looking for developers to\u00a0build 25 tiny homes<\/a>\u00a0on one acre of church-owned land for seniors facing housing insecurity, The Bee reported.<\/p>\n