Five affordable housing projects that Caltrain partnered with have been awarded funding by the California Strategic Growth Council in the sixth round of its Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC). This program allows affordable housing developers to partner with transit agencies in order to seek funds for projects that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide benefits to disadvantaged communities.
The five qualified projects are Sunnydale HOPE SF Block 3A in San Francisco, Middlefield Junction in Redwood City, 965 Weeks in East Palo Alto and both Dupont Apartments and Tamien Station in San Jose, which will deliver 671 housing units. The projects received over $108 million in funds this round, approximately $27 million of which will support Caltrain’s existing procurement of 37 new electric train cars that will be put into passenger service following the completion of electrification. With the success of these grant applications, Caltrain has provided a substantial portion of the $39 million in local matching funds needed for the EMU procurement, providing additional financial flexibility to continue investing in other urgent system priorities.
“This grant will address two major problems that confront the Bay Area; making housing more affordable and offering residents better transit options,” said Caltrain Board Chair Steve Heminger. “Caltrain was proud to partner with these projects, and we look forward to their residents riding on our electrified service.”
The AHSC program was designed to encourage collaboration between affordable housing developers and transit agencies. Investing in affordable housing in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods paired with transit has the potential to jointly address our region’s housing, equity and climate goals.
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About Caltrain: Owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Caltrain provides commuter rail service from San Francisco to San Jose, with commute service to Gilroy. Caltrain enjoyed five years of consecutive monthly ridership increases, surpassing more than 65,000 average weekday riders. While the Joint Powers Board assumed operating responsibilities for the service in 1992, the railroad celebrated 150 years of continuous passenger service in 2014. Planning for the next 150 years of Peninsula rail service, Caltrain is on pace to electrify the corridor, reduce diesel emissions by 97 percent by 2040 and add more service to more stations.