Part of a church parking lot has been transformed into affordable homes for vulnerable seniors in Walnut Creek, California.
Six factory-built units are poised to welcome their first residents on the site of Grace Presbyterian Church, which wanted to turn an underutilized section of its property to good use.
Hope Village now stands as a model for other faith-based communities, according to pastor Mark Burnham.
The idea for the project came at the urging of the Walnut Creek Homeless Task Force and then made a reality by a partnership of organizations, including Hope Solutions, HomeAid Northern California, PulteGroup, and Firm Foundation Community Housing.
The project may only be six units, but a “journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step,” says Deanne Pearn, CEO of Hope Solutions, the developer and operator.
“This is just the beginning of what’s possible in our community,” she says. Pearn and project supporters gathered for a Dec. 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In the weeks ahead, Hope Village will welcome its first residents, prioritizing adults 62 and older who have been unhoused. Residents will be referred through the coordinated entry system for the Contra Costa Continuum of Care.
“We saw this as an opportunity to come in and provide a very specific solution to a very specific opportunity, kind of driving what we would call 'smaller site urban infill,'” says Jasmine Tarkoff, consultant for strategic initiatives at Hope Solutions.
Tarkoff points to a recent report by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley that identified more than 171,759 acres of potentially developable land owned by faith-based organizations and nonprofit colleges in California, creating a new avenue to develop affordable housing.
In Contra Costa County alone, where Walnut Creek is located, there are approximately 1,100 acres of developable land owned by faith-based groups and another 1,600 acres owned by nonprofit colleges, according to the Terner Center.
Adding momentum to the idea of redeveloping surplus church land, state lawmakers in late 2023 passed a bill dubbed “Yes in God’s Backyard” that streamlines the process for faith-based groups to build affordable housing.
While planning for Hope Village preceded the legislation, officials are optimistic the project’s example and the new law will spur other developments.
“Now, that we’ve gone through this a few times with Hope Solutions and other cottage communities in the Bay Area, you learn so much,” says Cheryl O’Connor, a Hope Solutions board member and former executive director of HomeAid Northern California. “And, we have new housing laws to expedite the process.”
Overall, Hope Village was about a three-year journey, but the construction phase was only about six months, according to Tarkoff, citing the efficiency of using factory-built homes.
The “retail” development cost for the community was about $2.5 million, or $360,000 per unit. However, the project’s use of donated labor and materials and contributions from the city meant the cost was closer to $1.5 million, or $210,000 per unit, she says.
Much of that was funded through Hope Solutions’ Homes Heal Hearts capital campaign.
PulteGroup, a leading home builder, donated roughly $850,000 in materials and labor to the project.
Another important piece came from the Housing Authority of Contra Costa County, which provided six project-based vouchers, which means residents will only pay 30% of their income for rent and helps ensure the project’s financing for the long term.
Hope Solutions is also working on another cottage community in Pittsburg, California, with plans to serve youth who have been homeless.
