FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Am I Eligible? ​
You may be eligible for an apartment at 231 Grant if you meet the following requirements:
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1) At least one member of your household is a current employee of Los Altos School District, Palo Alto Unified School District, Mountain View Whisman School District, Foothill De-Anza Community College District, or another participating school in San Mateo County.
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2) Your annual household income is between 60% and 140% of the Area Median Income for Santa Clara County.
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What are Maximum qualifying Household Incomes?​
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See Below for Maximum qualifying incomes by unit type:​
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Is there a minimum income required?​
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Yes, the minimum income required is 2x the unit rent.
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Are student employees eligible?
​Full and Part-time employees, as defined by each school district, are eligible. Students are not eligible.
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Do I qualify to live here if I am retired or am no longer employed by a participating school district?
No, residents must be employed by the school districts to be eligible for residency. Eligibility will be recertified annually. ​
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Can I apply if I work at multiple eligible schools or districts?
Please select all school districts you work at on your application.
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Do you accept Section 8 vouchers?
Yes, we accept resident-based section 8 vouchers.
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Application Process
How can I apply for housing at this development?
​ Please submit an application to be entered into the lottery for this project at LINK. The lottery is open through March 6th. You will be asked to submit information such as household size and income, but we require no documentation at this step.
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What happens after the lottery?
After the lottery closes, we will work with the qualifying schools and districts to confirm employment status of all applicants. After verification, we will run a digital lottery. Leasing staff will reach out to qualified applicants in lottery order to begin interviews.
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What happens in the interviews?
The goal of the interview is to identify that each household meets income and eligibility criteria. At the interview, the Leasing Team will already have confirmed that households are qualified employees of one or more of the participating school districts. The Interview allows our Leasing Team to determine the income and assets of each household, households to provide supporting documentation and complete certification documents, to ask questions about the application process, the property, etc. And for the Leasing Team to provide answers to those questions.
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Building Facilities
How many units are available?
Overall, the property has 110 apartments. One apartment is dedicated to an on-site property management staff member. The remaining 109 aparments are allocated into dedicated pools for each school district/set aside. If there are more applicants for a specific school district than available apartments, the remaining applicants will be placed on a wait list for that pool. If a school district does not have enough interested and eligible applicants, applicants from other districts may be offered the unit.
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What laundry facilities does the building have?
There are laundry rooms located on floors 2, 3, and 4. Two-bedroom units are equipped with a hookup for a stacking washer and dryer.
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What Parking is available on site?
There is one parking space per apartment in the building garage. The parking is configured in parking stackers to maximize the available space.
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Is there storage space available?
Yes, the ground floor has secured storage rooms with lockers for bulky item storage such as outdoor gear or holiday decor. ​
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Are Pets allowed
Yes! Featuring a dog run in the second-floor courtyards, The Acacia welcomes pets. There is a maximum of 2 cats or dogs per household. The maximum weight limit is 90 pounds per pet.
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Living at The Acacia
Will there be rent increases?
California law restricts rent increases at no more than 5% per year. Rent increases will depend on the rent limits published annually by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee​
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Who will be the property Manager?
Mercy Housing Management Group, the management agent of Mercy Housing, will be the Manager of The Acacia at 231 Grant, the actual on-site Property Manager and staff have not yet been hired but once they are applicants and residents will have the opportunity to meet them. Currently, MHMG manages a total of 328 affordable housing developments nationwide, and 148 properties in California. Schools and districts will not be involved in property management beyond their annual confirmation of employment and income. ​
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Project Development and Team
Why are Mercy Housing California and Abode Communities pursuing this development?
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In February 2019, the County of Santa Clara issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) “to create a high-quality educator workforce housing development at a central location in Palo Alto.” The County was seeking to support local school districts and their teachers and staff, whose incomes are generally not high enough to afford market-rate rental or sales prices. This housing development would assist the districts in their retention and recruitment efforts, as well as facilitate educators and staff living within the communities in which they work.
In keeping with their common mission to create stable, vibrant, healthy residential communities, Mercy Housing and Abode Communities responded to the RFP and were later selected by the County. Their partnership brings extensive experience in mixed-income, multi-family development and operations, and in the creation of school district supported educator workforce housing over their combined 90 years of real estate and community development efforts.
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What is the planning process for this development?
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The 231 Grant site is on County of Santa Clara-owned property but lies within the incorporated area of the City of Palo Alto. The County will serve as the lead agency for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and as the approval authority for the development.
In addition to CEQA’s required public notice and comment procedures, the County has held meetings in Palo Alto to respond to questions and seek community input. The County Board of Supervisors made the required CEQA findings and granted final approval.
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More information can be found on the County of Santa Clara website at sccgov.org/231grant
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Who is the construction team for this development?
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Cahill Contractors are leading the construction team for 231 Grant. Cahill Contractors have been building with quality and integrity for over 100 years. They specialize in residential, education, civic, healthcare, and commercial construction in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Cahill has served as General Contractor for dozens of affordable housing developments, including:
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The Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Affordable workforce housing for theatre staff and performers
2009 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
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Affordable housing and courtyard
1345 Turk Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
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Affordable housing and retail spaces
567 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
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Affordable housing and courtyard
25 Essex Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
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Affordable housing and parking garage
1075 Le Conte Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124
Affordable housing with solar panels
930 84th Avenue, Oakland, CA 94621
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Who are the architects for this development?
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Van Meter Williams Pollack is leading the design team for 231 Grant. VMWP is an award-winning architecture and urban design firm based in San Francisco, Denver, and Minneapolis. VMWP specializes in affordable housing, mixed-use and market-rate housing, master planning, and land use and zoning standards that help communities accommodate change.
VMWP takes a comprehensive and innovative design approach. The firm integrates client needs into sustainable design solutions that address climate resilience, and social and economic equity,
to create beautiful, inspiring communities and places for people to live and thrive.
VMWP has served the Bay Area for over 30 years and has built over 3,000 affordable apartments. Recently completed housing developments in the Bay Area include:
Affordable veterans housing
1680 Mission Road, Colma, CA 94103
Affordable housing, reserved units for veterans who have experienced homelessness
1701 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA 94040
Affordable senior housing
2626 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Fairfax, CA 94930
Affordable mixed-use senior housing with community services
10860 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530
Affordable housing
1101 Connecticut Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Mural at MacArthur BART Station
Affordable transit-oriented housing, mixed-use
3838 Turquoise Way, Oakland, CA 94609
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How is the development being funded?
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Financing for 231 Grant is provided by multiple public and private sources. These sources include County of Santa Clara funds, a City of Palo Alto loan, contributions from participating school districts, a grant from Meta (formerly Facebook), a loan from Century Housing Corporation, and a loan from the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund.
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