A new development is accomplishing two important goals in Marina, California.
Developed by USA Properties Fund, Terracina at The Dunes provides affordable housing opportunities for early-in-their-career professionals, hardworking families, and fixed-income retirees. It is also part of the redevelopment of the former Fort Ord Army base.
“The 142 new affordable units is a substantial number, and I'm thrilled that hundreds of our community's families will benefit from these homes for decades to come,” said Marina mayor Bruce Delgado. “Terracina at The Dunes allows more residents to work and live in Marina, which will benefit workers and local employers, while reducing commuter traffic and helping our local economy.”
The new apartments are part of The Dunes, a master-planned community with 1,237 homes and a large shopping center that includes Target, Kohl’s, Best Buy, REI, and Old Navy as well as neighborhood restaurants. The soon-to-be completed Promenade at The Dunes is within walking distance of the new apartments.
The beach is a few blocks away along with California State University-Monterey Bay and several parks.
“The Dunes is a first-rate master-planned community that has so much to offer residents, from apartments and single-family homes to a regional shopping center—all in a coastal community,” said Geoff Brown, president of USA Properties Fund.Terracina at The Dunes is the first apartment community for the company in Monterey County and along the Central Coast, one of the priciest housing markets in California.
USA Properties Fund acquired two parcels, totaling 6.5 acres, from Marina Community Partners for a nominal fee. Marina Community Partners also provided almost $8 million to subsidize the development on the former Army base that closed three decades ago.
The subsidy coupled with a public-private partnership that includes California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), JPMorgan Chase, and WNC made the $71 million project possible.
CalHFA issued tax-exempt bonds for the project and provided a long-term permanent loan and subsidy funds through its Mixed-Income Program. Under the state program, residents can earn a wider range of income levels and still qualify for Terracina at The Dunes compared with traditional affordable housing requirements.
“CalHFA’s Mixed-Income Program was designed to finance developments just like Terracina at The Dunes, which will provide housing at various low-income levels in a very high-cost county,” said CalHFA executive director Tiena Johnson Hall. “This integrated community will truly improve the lives of local residents who deserve a stable place to call home.”
With the Mixed-Income Program, households earning 30% to 70% of the area median income (AMI)—about $35,760 to $83,440 for a three-person household—could qualify for Terracina at The Dunes.
Residents will also benefit from substantially lower rents at Terracina at The Dunes compared with nearby market-rate apartment communities in Marina, according to multiple rental listing sites. For example, a two-bedroom apartment at Terracina at The Dunes rents for $823 per month for households at 30% of the AMI to $2,015 at the 70% income level.
Each of the Terracina at The Dunes communities—one has 93 apartments, the other 49—includes a community room and a fitness room. Other amenities include computer stations, a basketball court, a picnic area, a tot-lot play area, and laundry rooms.
The one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments feature energy-efficient appliances and light fixtures, and low-flow faucets, showers, and toilets.
“It’s an affordable, quality apartment community that offers residents so much, from the location in a master-planned community close to a major shopping center to being just a few minutes from the ocean,” Brown said. “The public-private partnership worked long and hard to make Terracina at The Dunes a reality. We all know the incredible need for more affordable housing in Marina and on the Central Coast.”
