San Rafael, CA – The County of Marin has agreed to support a project that will provide approximately 250 new homes for public school employees and members of its own county workforce on an unused parcel of state land near San Quentin State Prison. The target grand opening would be winter 2025.
Oak Hill Apartments are to be built just off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard between the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and San Quentin State Prison’s west entrance.The Marin County Board of Supervisors on November 8 approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a joint powers authority (JPA) with the Marin County Office of Education to support rental apartments for lower-income workforce housing, which will be called Oak Hill Apartments.
Under the proposed framework, the nonprofits Education Housing Partners and Eden Housing will develop the project on 8.5 acres in the unincorporated San Quentin area near San Francisco Bay. The location is off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard between the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and the prison’s west entrance. It is close to bus stops, bike trails, the ferry, light rail, and a commercial shopping area.
Education Housing Partners’ portion of the project is estimated to provide 135 units of low- to moderate-cost rental housing, with 75% dedicated to local public school employees – both teachers and staff – and 25% to County employees. Generally, those who qualify for such units are more racially and ethnically diverse than the general Marin population, which helps advance the County’s goals and initiatives on equity. In addition to the apartments for school and County employees, Eden Housing plans to develop and rent 115 units for lower-income families at the complex.
“This is exciting,” Board of Supervisors President Katie Rice said after a presentation about the project on September 13. “This is definitely something to build on, no pun intended. Let's hope this is the first of many.”
Education Housing Partners, created by the principals of Marin-based Thompson/ Dorfman, LLC, has been retained by more than a dozen Bay Area school districts to assist in creating workforce housing on surplus land. It plans to front the costs of forming the JPA and issue bonds to assist with project financing, with the objective being cost-neutral to both the County and the Office of Education. The managing and operating costs would be covered by the new JPA.
For more information and a schedule of town hall meetings about the project, check OakHillMarin.com or email the staff at Eden Housing.