Update: We are thrilled that an appeal to stop Eden Housing’s Ruby Street Apartments was denied, meaning the project is now set to move forward! This is a huge win for affordable housing and open space advocates.
Greenbelt Alliance is pleased to endorse the proposed Ruby Street Apartments project in Castro Valley by Eden Housing. The Ruby Street Apartments development is another smart step for Castro Valley to ensure the creation of affordable housing communities and the implementation of smart growth. We hope its approval will inspire communities around the Bay Area to redouble their efforts to grow smartly.
This project is being proposed by Eden Housing, an affordable housing developer whose mission is to build and maintain high‐quality, well‐managed, service‐enhanced affordable housing communities that meet the needs of lower-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities. The development is comprised of 72 units of 100% affordable housing. Eden Housing is purchasing this 6.24-acre parcel from Caltrans as part of the disbursement of Route 238 parcels throughout Hayward and Castro Valley.
Currently, the neighborhood is primarily composed of one to two-story single family homes, with some duplexes and triplexes. Half of the units in the proposed apartment project are either two or three bedrooms and will be providing much-needed homes for families earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, far exceeding the percentage of affordability required on public land.
The development of this project will provide the neighborhood with new access to San Lorenzo Creek as nearly half of the site (2.97 acres) includes a portion of the creek, which is protected by a Caltrans Conservation Easement and an Alameda County Watercourse Protection Ordinance easement. Alameda County is planning for a San Lorenzo Creek Active Transportation Corridor—a bike/pedestrian path that would connect the Bay Trail with Don Castro Park and follow San Lorenzo Creek. Additionally, the developer is donating land on their property for the San Lorenzo Creek trail in order to preserve a critical link in the trail system.
Photo: Eden Housing
