Wakeland Opens New Community; Hires New Staff
May 22, 2013
Spring is often the busiest time of the year – and this spring has proved to be no exception for Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation. In the past few weeks, we've had a number of new developments in our efforts to address California’s affordable housing needs:
* We are excited to report that last night (May 21, 2013), the Costa Mesa City Council unanimously approved a predevelopment agreement with Wakeland and our partner Mercy House Living Centers to develop and operate a permanent supportive housing project for that city’s homeless population. Councilmember Wendy Leece called the decision on the much-anticipated project, "a defining moment in the history of Costa Mesa" and praised the collaborative approach of Wakeland and Mercy House. In her words, "People will have not just a place to live but supportive housing with counseling and other services available."
* Earlier this month, we celebrated the grand opening of our newest affordable housing community, Forester Square in Santee. Santee Mayor Randy Voepel, Vice Mayor John Minto and other local leaders in government, housing and finance joined us to express their enthusiasm for this development, which provides an attractive and affordable place to live for 44 local working families who would not be able to rent a comparable home at the market rate. "I remember what this lot looked like before," said Vice Mayor Minto in his remarks at the opening ceremony. "Now 44 families can enjoy having something nice of their own and hopefully move up in housing later."
* Finally, we’d like to welcome Peter Armstrong to our team as Senior Project Finance Manager. Peter brings 15 years of experience in the field of community development and affordable housing to his new role, which involves preparing financial models to study opportunities for acquisition, rehabilitation and new construction of low-income rental housing developments for Wakeland. Prior to joining us, he worked for the San Diego Housing Commission, EAH Housing and the cities of Berkeley and San Diego
Spring is often the busiest time of the year – and this spring has proved to be no exception for Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation. In the past few weeks, we've had a number of new developments in our efforts to address California’s affordable housing needs:
* We are excited to report that last night (May 21, 2013), the Costa Mesa City Council unanimously approved a predevelopment agreement with Wakeland and our partner Mercy House Living Centers to develop and operate a permanent supportive housing project for that city’s homeless population. Councilmember Wendy Leece called the decision on the much-anticipated project, "a defining moment in the history of Costa Mesa" and praised the collaborative approach of Wakeland and Mercy House. In her words, "People will have not just a place to live but supportive housing with counseling and other services available."
* Earlier this month, we celebrated the grand opening of our newest affordable housing community, Forester Square in Santee. Santee Mayor Randy Voepel, Vice Mayor John Minto and other local leaders in government, housing and finance joined us to express their enthusiasm for this development, which provides an attractive and affordable place to live for 44 local working families who would not be able to rent a comparable home at the market rate. "I remember what this lot looked like before," said Vice Mayor Minto in his remarks at the opening ceremony. "Now 44 families can enjoy having something nice of their own and hopefully move up in housing later."
* Finally, we’d like to welcome Peter Armstrong to our team as Senior Project Finance Manager. Peter brings 15 years of experience in the field of community development and affordable housing to his new role, which involves preparing financial models to study opportunities for acquisition, rehabilitation and new construction of low-income rental housing developments for Wakeland. Prior to joining us, he worked for the San Diego Housing Commission, EAH Housing and the cities of Berkeley and San Diego