San Rafael, CA – Final preparations are being made for the opening of a new low-income senior housing complex in Fairfax that received significant funding from the County of Marin. Victory Village, located one mile north of the downtown area, just completed final inspections and is allowing people 62 and older to move in next week.
The initial architectural rendering of Victory Village in Fairfax.There will be no on-site grand opening event because of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
There are 53 new one-bedroom homes and one two-bedroom manager’s unit at 2626 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, including 20% of the units (11 apartments) for people transitioning from homelessness. Addressing homelessness through the Housing First approach and preserving and creating affordable housing have been key priorities for the Marin County Board of Supervisors for years. The project received $2.6 million of assistance from the County of Marin’s Affordable Housing Fund in the form of a $1.5 million grant and a $1.1 million loan.
“We are so pleased that some seniors who have been living in motels during the COVID-19 public health emergency and were previously homeless are among those who get to move in to Victory Village,” said Planning Manager Leelee Thomas of the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA). “For those folks and many others, the name of this facility will have a personal meaning. For them, it will be a victory to settle down in a beautiful new home.”
The opening is considered a triumph for fair housing and access for people with physical challenges. Twenty-eight apartments are designed for tenants with mobility impairments, and three of those have enhancements for those with auditory or visual impairments.
The application period started in February and closed June 29. The Marin Housing Authority is managing the application process and the waitlist.
Work began on Victory Village in fall 2018 after more than six years of planning and working to obtain permits. The location is the former home of Christ Lutheran Church and Cascade Canyon School. Residents need to be at least 62 years old and earning less than $72,500 per year to qualify for a home there. The maximum residency allowed per household is three people.
The County’s support of the project aligns well with County goals set in response to more and more residents being priced out of Marin because of high rents and mortgages. Thomas said there is an ongoing and urgent need to support projects like Victory Village, especially in the wake of the economic downturn linked to the public health emergency. Marin has some of the highest home prices in the country with a median price for a single-family home at $1.2 million, and the average rent for a two-bedroom unit is more than $3,000.
This is the second time County funds have supported a major housing project in Fairfax. In February 2016, the Board approved $675,000 to prevent 27 units of affordable family housing from being changed to market rates at the Piper Court Apartments.
Learn more on the County’s Affordable Housing webpage.