Despite the dramatic decrease in housing prices over the past few years, California remains an expensive place to live. We continue to see families living two to three households to a unit in order to stay housed. It remains costly to build new housing whether for single family or apartment homes. This is why it is important to understand what our financial and community partners are receiving in return for their investment when working with Jamboree on the creation of new affordable housing or the rehabilitation/transformation of existing units.

High quality, service enriched, environmentally friendly housing built close to jobs, transportation and community services requires smart targeted investment by our commercial lenders, investors and community partners. These types of impactful developments typically involve significant amounts of funding that go beyond the hard cost of construction and land acquisition. Measuring the impact, or return on investment, is complex and not an exact science. It is simplistic to measure the benefits of affordable housing by focusing on unit counts and households assisted.

Community wide benefits triggered by our developments can include: reduced traffic congestion, better air quality, lower crime rates, and increased property values. Sustainable construction features, quality project design, access to public transportation, and access to childcare and medical facilities directly result in a higher quality of life for the residents living in our apartments. There are measurable, direct benefits that can be attributed to the production of affordable housing and it is incumbent upon us to identify and share this information.

President, Jamboree