Suisun Apartments To Be Completed By Next Year
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen/Times-Herald, Vallejo
Artist Clay Perry's rendering shows what developers envision the new Cottonwood Creek apartment complex will look like when complete. (Courtesy image)
By next May, Solano County's first "green" affordable housing apartment complex will be ready for tenants to move in, a project spokesman said this week. Ground was broken in March for Cottonwood Creek Apartments, which eventually will include 94 units, said project manager Jon Yolles of San Francisco-based Bridge Housing Corp. Bridge is a nonprofit affordable housing developer with about 80 projects, though not necessarily "green" ones, under its belt statewide.
At least four Bridge projects have been in Vallejo, Yolles said. The company renovated Vallejo's Marina Towers, the Marina Towers Annex, the Redwood Shores senior complex and The Charles condominium conversion in downtown Vallejo.
The new apartments - with one-, two- and three-bedroom options - will be rented to households earning annual incomes ranging from $22,600 to $37,700, depending on family size. Rents will range from $386 to $887 monthly, depending on apartment size, Yolles said.
Former Suisun Mayor Jim Spering, a county supervisor, said he was impressed that Bridge "isn't skimping on the amenities."
"This will be a place to help people with a hand up, and a place they will be proud of and maintain," he predicted.
The $27.5 million Cottonwood Creek project will be the county's first affordable housing complex with common areas - like the community room, multipurpose room, basketball court and swimming pool - that are solar-powered, using a 65-kilowatt photovoltaic system, Yolles said.
Also, he said, "each unit has energy-saving features to lower costs."
The complex also boasts high-efficiency water systems, Energy Star appliances, a bio-retention basin to treat storm water runoff, recycled-content play area surfaces and a pedestrian-friendly design, according to a company statement.
Bridge wants to be a good global citizen, Yolles said. "We're trying to not just be a leader in the affordable housing sector, but in the sustainable energy sector, as well," he said. "And we want to do the right thing."
Doing the right thing can also pay, he added. "The state rebates and tax credits allow the system to pay for itself in about 11 years," Yolles said.
Cottonwood Creek is at 202 Railroad Ave. For more information, call 237-5311.
