For Fred Howser, finding an affordable place to live in Woodland has been difficult so he’s been living in his friend’s truck while looking for an apartment.
According to Zillow, the median rent for all bedrooms and property types is $2,,352, which is significantly higher than Sacramento’s median rent of $1,975 and a bit lower than Davis’ median rent of $2,700.
As a retired carpenter, he first learned about the Vista del Robles affordable housing community – a three-story walk-up with open parking featuring 72 one, two or three-bedroom units located at 310 W. Main St. – when construction began in 2022 and has kept track of it since.
“I’ve been watching them build this thing since it wasn’t going to be a Safeway,” Howser said, referring to previous rumors that the once empty lot would become a grocery store. “I knew about it, I just never thought I’d be interested in even getting a place. It just really is a nice job they’ve done.”
Howser is originally from Washington, D.C. and ended up in Woodland because of construction jobs he was hired for throughout the years including work on the County Fair Mall and the Target Distribution Center.
When speaking about the application process, Howser said “You wouldn’t believe it,” noting that the process involved entering personal information on a website and waiting for a referral to an appointment with the manager.
“It was a really clean and nice way,” he emphasized.
Although he is currently on the waitlist for an apartment, Howser is already planning on what to do with his new place if he gets it.
“It would become a private studio to do some art, hopefully,” he remarked. “My degree is in art, but I earn a living building functional buildings.”
Howser dropped off his application Thursday morning while a ribbon-cutting ceremony was being held for the affordable housing community.
Local leaders and elected officials including Woodland Mayor Tania Garcia-Cadena, City Council members and Yolo County Supervisor Angel Barajas were in attendance along with executives from developer Chelsea Investment Corporation.
Guests participated in a tour of unfurnished one, two and three-bedroom apartment homes to see the amenities provided and the quality of Chelsea’s work.
During the ceremony, Garcia-Cadena said she was proud to be part of the council that helped pave the way for families to have an opportunity to live in an affordable community.
“The city of Woodland’s partnership with Chelsea Investment Corporation and Pacific Southwest Community Development Corporation is a prime example of how we can move our city forward as we prioritize affordable housing,” she highlighted. “Again, congratulations to all.”
Before the ceremony, Garcia-Cadena also noted that affordable housing is a critical component of integrating families into a “beautiful place to call home” at a reasonable price.
“What we have seen throughout California is an extreme shortage of affordable housing in the rental market,” she stressed. “Affordable housing is the strongest foothold toward economic stability and we are proud to have such great partners… to help the city of Woodland achieve this goal.”
Michael Cates, a development manager for Chelsea Investment Corporation, explained that close to 30 of the 72 units have already been filled,
“It feels great going from the dirt lot to seeing a beautiful 72-unit building that will house people that need assistance with affordable rents,” Cates said. “There aren’t many good days in development and this is definitely one of them, so I like to hold on to that and appreciate the hard work that has been done by both development and the construction team.”
Cates said his corporation takes pride in building quality affordable housing without cutting corners.
“The products we use are durable, but they look nice,” he explained. “It’s supposed to mimic market rate and… we want the same amenities as a market rate and as big of square footage as we can get right now. We don’t want these tiny little units where people don’t feel like they’re well cared for, so that is a pride of Chelsea to really do quality building everywhere we go.”
He thanked the local officials who helped them throughout the development noting that Chelsea was granted a half $1 million gap loan from Woodland that helped “bring this project to the finish line.”
“The support in the city has been second to none,” he highlighted. “We love the area, love the local elected officials and I can’t say enough good things about the area.”
Construction for the roughly $32 million project kicked off in April 2022 and was funded by a series of financial partners including the $500,000 loan from Woodland.
On-site services will be provided by Chelsea’s nonprofit partner, Pacific Southwest Community Development Corporation, and feature adult education and skill-building classes including computer literacy, English as a second language, art, job counseling, financial literacy and health, according to the city’s website.
Furthermore, the community development corporation will offer an on-site after-school program for school-age children including tutoring, mentoring, arts and crafts and other educational enrichment activities with all services being free of charge to residents.
If interested in applying for an apartment at Vista del Robles, visit conam.com/property/vista-del-robles-apartments, email [email protected] or call (252)371-1595.
