\u201cSo we\u2019re creating a framework that is going to be able to administer the money more effectively, but it doesn\u2019t come with the money itself,\u201d Alison Cingolani, director of policy at nonprofit SV@Home, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cSo this agency is still going to need to be adequately resourced to support the affordable housing development that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the current system, funding for affordable housing<\/a> is a complicated and lengthy process that requires developers to submit multiple applications across various agencies to cobble together tax credits, bonds, grants, subsidies and more for a project to pencil out. It can take years to gather enough money.<\/p>\n The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley found each additional funding source<\/a> delays construction by an average of four months and adds an additional $20,406 per home.<\/p>\n The new agency aims to solve that problem, Christi Economy, senior research associate at the Terner Center, said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a key component of this (state housing agency) is the potential for a one stop shop for affordable housing finance,\u201d Economy told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis is ideally a place where developers can apply and receive funding through a single application process.\u201d<\/p>\n While it\u2019s unclear exactly how this new streamlined process will play out, some nonprofit developers are hopeful it\u2019s a change in the right direction. Others have concerns about how the state housing agency will interact with local dollars.<\/p>\n One proposal being considered<\/a> would automatically set aside a certain amount of tax credits for projects that receive an award through the new agency. While this can ensure some housing projects can be fully funded, other projects that don\u2019t need state subsidies might have a harder time accessing tax credits, Linda Mandolini, CEO of nonprofit developer Eden Housing, said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just not clear yet how those projects are going to get to compete, and I think that\u2019s the question that we\u2019re all having,\u201d Mandolini told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Tia Boatman Patterson, former executive director of the California Housing Finance Agency, one of the state agencies that finances affordable housing, said this reorganization is happening without program evaluation and forethought.<\/p>\n Under the California Housing and Homelessness Agency, a new Housing Development and Finance Committee will be formed to oversee funding programs. This includes the Mixed-Income Program, which provides subsidies for affordable multifamily developments such as Gateway Tower<\/a>, a 15-story, 100% affordable apartment building being built in downtown San Jose\u2019s SoFA District.<\/p>\n The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program will also be overseen by the finance committee. This program subsidizes affordable housing near public transit<\/a>, such as the 195-apartment affordable housing development being built next to the Berryessa Transit Center<\/a>, which received a $38 million grant. Boatman Patterson has raised alarm that the success of these two programs could be jeopardized once they get rolled into the new finance committee. Furthermore, she argues that how a program is designed is more important than where it is housed.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with that program,\u201d Boatman Patterson told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cSo why would you take a program that is efficiently administered and now move it to a brand new entity so that it can be administered just like your other programs that have never been reviewed or evaluated?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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