![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/St-Paul-Terrace-4.jpg\")
Carrie Smith performs a praise dance as part of a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for St. Paul Terrace, a planned 50-unit affordable housing complex in South Berkeley. Credit: Hope Mu\u00f1oz\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\nCarrie Smith performs a praise dance as part of a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for St. Paul Terrace, a planned 50-unit affordable housing complex in South Berkeley. Credit: Hope Mu\u00f1oz\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n
Community members and local officials celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of an affordable housing project on the property of a historically Black church in South Berkeley on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The seven-story, 50-unit development at 2024 Ashby Ave., called St. Paul Terrace, will replace an annex building and parking lot at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church of Berkeley. The units will range from studios to three-bedrooms with options for individuals and families earning no more than 60% of Berkeley\u2019s area median income, which stands at just over $100,000 for an individual. Thirteen of the units will be set aside for seniors who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The building\u2019s estimated completion date is April 2028, according to Darrylyn Swift, a representative for the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project is especially needed because it\u2019s in South Berkeley, and the community has a long history of redlining, divestment, displacement,\u201d said Briana Brown, director of community engagement for Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas. \u201cAffordable housing like this helps to ensure the long-time residents can remain in the neighborhood they helped build.\u201d<\/p>\n
St. Paul AME is one of two<\/a> historically Black churches in South Berkeley that have been approved to build affordable housing on its properties. Amid rising housing costs over the last half-century, Berkeley\u2019s Black population fell by two-thirds from 1970 to 2020, according to Census data<\/a>.<\/p>\n The other church, Ephesian Church of God in Christ on Alcatraz Avenue, plans to build a 79-unit apartment building for seniors who are considered low-income or very low-income.<\/p>\n The 100-year-old McGee Avenue Baptist Church also partnered with the Bay Area Community Land Trust to refurbish a dilapidated building on Stuart Street and create eight affordable units<\/a> that opened in 2022. It was the first project funded by Berkeley\u2019s Small Sites Program, which the city council approved in 2018 to create more affordable housing and slow displacement. The projects are examples of a new approach to creating affordable housing on church properties known as the \u201cYes In God\u2019s Backyard,\u201d<\/a> or YIGBY, movement.<\/p>\n St. Paul AME joined forces with the Community Housing Development Corporation, a Black-led, Richmond-based nonprofit housing developer, in 2022 to build the housing on its property. That year, the city dedicated<\/a> over $12 million from Measure O, a voter-approved bond to generate $135 million for affordable housing developments, to St. Paul Terrace.\u00a0<\/p>\n The project\u2019s budget totals $69 million, Swift said.\u00a0Other funding sources include California Climate Investments, California Community Reinvestment Corporation, First Citizens Bank, Housing and Community Development and the National Equity Fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSouth Berkeley was historically the busy epicenter of our city\u2019s Black life, culture and commerce. It is a neighborhood where people knew each other by name, where children played safely, and where our elders felt secure watching the next generation grow,\u201d Larry Taylor, vice president of CHDC\u2019s board of directors, said Thursday. \u201cBut over the last few years, that beautiful picture has changed dramatically due to the devastating loss of affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-03-14-at-12.58.30-PM.png\")
A rendering of the housing development planned for the property of St. Paul AME Church in South Berkeley. Credit: St. Paul AME<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/St-Paul-Terrace-1.jpg\")
The 50-unit affordable housing development is under construction along Ashby Avenue. Credit: Hope Mu\u00f1oz\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n