Earlier this month, we were happy to cohost, with Mercy Housing California, a tour of the Hacienda Heights Senior Apartments Renovation, in Richmond, for representatives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last weekend. The delegation included officers from the national, Region IX, and San Francisco offices, and was joined by California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) staff. The guests were eager to learn about the project and community revitalization and utilization of State mechanisms that support affordable housing, as well as beyond-housing strategies needed to support vulnerable communities.

Also last month, St. Paul’s Commons in Walnut Creek generously opened the doors, as it were, to an Oakland-based faith organization to see how a mixed-use affordable housing and drop-in day center can integrate with a church campus and fulfill that church’s neighborly mission. The project is owned by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, developed by Resources for Community Development, with the drop-in center operated by church partner Trinity Center. We joined representatives from these organizations to visit and discuss features of the Commons: