Housing To Rise From Ashes Of Journey's End Mobile Home Park

NORTH BAY, CA — A 532-unit apartment project consisting of market-rate and affordable senior apartments to replace Santa Rosa's Journey's End Mobile Home Park — destroyed in the 2017 Tubbs Fire — has been approved for tax credits by committees chaired by California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa.

The 13.3-acre site, formerly occupied by the Journey's End homes severely damaged in the October 2017 Tubbs Fire, will include the "3575 Mendocino" apartment complex, a centrally located park, a community building, and other amenities.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee allocated tax credits for the first phase of the project which consists of 94 affordable units, according to a news release Tuesday from the office of state Treasurer Ma.

"What better way to start the New Year than with the funding of new, affordable housing," Ma said in the news release.

The housing complex will have 532 units, 370 of which will be market-rate while 162 apartments are to be reserved for low-income senior tenants — and will first be offered to former Journey's End residents who were displaced by the deadly Tubbs Fire.

"I think we can all agree, the October 2017 wildfires changed our lives forever," state Sen. Mike McGuire said. "With 5,200 homes destroyed in Sonoma County, including 162 units at Journey’s End, residents have gone through hell and back."

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, said securing funds for the housing project is a big win for the entire North Bay community. Thompson chairs the House Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee and secured $100 million of tax credits that can be used each year for 10 years by project developers to raise money for affordable housing projects in disaster areas, such as the 3575 Mendocino project.

"This will help address the affordable housing crisis in our region that was exacerbated by the recent fires and will be a critical stepping stone in our recovery process," Thompson said. "Know that I will continue working with Treasurer Ma to ensure we secure every Federal and state dollar and resource to help our community continue to recover."

The apartment complex is being undertaken as a joint venture, with the affordable component headed up by the local nonprofit Burbank Housing and another developer, Related California.

"... Having worked collaboratively with all of the local governments in Sonoma and Napa county for almost 41 years we can testify to the importance that these credits will play in the recovery from the 2017 wildfires," said Larry Florin, CEO of Burbank Housing.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, thanked Thompson and Ma for securing the critical funding.

"Our community has lost so many units to wildfires," Dodd said. "Now, in these tough economic times, it is especially important that we advance this much-needed project."

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.