New Sonoma Housing Community Survives Fires, Holds Grand Opening

SONOMA, CA — Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin joined other county and regional leaders Thursday to celebrate the grand opening of Fetters Apartments, an affordable rental community developed by MidPen Housing. The official grand opening of Fetters, 200 Dorene Way in Sonoma, was originally scheduled for Oct. 17, 2017 but was postponed due to the deadly NorCal fires that swept through the region that month. In fact, that week Fetters’ new residents were evacuated and the property was surrounded by flames. Remarkably, and in large part thanks to Sonoma County's first responders, the community was unscathed by the fires and Fetters’ residents were able to move back into their new homes.

Located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley wine region, Fetters Apartments is part of a master-planned, intergenerational community where people of all ages can live, work, attend school, shop, have easy access to transportation and enjoy many community amenities. In one of the nations’ most expensive housing markets, Fetters provides affordable workforce housing for families – many of whom work in the regions’ extensive service industry.

“This is a very exciting and meaningful day,” said Gorin, First District supervisor. “We’re celebrating the realization of a longtime vision to transform an underutilized site into a vibrant community that provides much needed affordable housing for our county’s valued workforce. And the fact that Fetters survived the fires which devastated much of what surrounds it, makes this community and its residents a beacon of hope as we look to rebuild.”

Fetters Apartments provides 60 affordable apartment homes and is part of Phase 1 of the master development which also includes many infrastructure improvements: a 1.4-acre playground shared by theSonoma Charter School; a brand new 2 mile bike path that connects to two public elementary schools and various public parks and ends at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in northwest Sonoma; the frontage beautification of Hwy 12 with a new tree-lined sidewalk – all of which were developed by MidPen and are complete. Still in development is a commercial retail center being built by the Vailetti Family Trust which will eventually provide community residents with walking access to shops, restaurants and cafés.

Expected to begin construction later this year, Phase 2 of the master development will include MidPen’s Celestina Gardens, an affordable housing community with 40 apartment homes for seniors and an extensive community garden accessible to both Fetters and Celestina Gardens residents.

“We are honored to partner with the County of Sonoma on this visionary community which integrates housing, employment, retail, open space, transit, education and services,” said Matthew O. Franklin, President of MidPen Housing. “Fetters Apartments and the extended mixed-use neighborhood is a model for infill development at its best and a great example of what’s possible when civic, non-profit and business leaders work together in innovative ways.”

“There’s an acute shortage of high-quality affordable housing in Sonoma County,” said Daniel Perl, Senior Vice President, Community Lending and Investment at Wells Fargo. “We feel privileged to partner with MidPen Housing to help create 60 affordable homes that will benefit the community for years to come.”

Fetters provides 19 one-bedroom, 22 two-bedroom, and 19 three-bedroom apartment homes for low-income households earning up to 60% of Area Median Income which is $52,860 for a four-person household. The property also features a community room, a computer lab, and an after school program classroom for youth. Fetters residents have easy access to the new public bike trail, adjacent playground with ball fields and, once finished, will enjoy extensive community gardens.

MidPen Services Corporation provides onsite programs and services designed to empower Fetters residents to advance in key areas of their lives. These include academically-based After School and Summer Programs for the youth, financial capabilities courses, vocational development, health and wellness programs, computer labs, and connection to other community resources. MidPen Property Management Corp. provides professional, onsite property management.

Financing for the nearly $27.5-million development was provided through both public and private sources including the Sonoma County Community Development Commission, the Sonoma County Housing authority, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program, Wells Fargo Community Lending and Citi Community Capital.

News release and photos submitted for publication by MidPen Housing and Wells Fargo Corporate Communications

Image credits: Fetters ribbon-cutting photo by Sherry Tesler; Fetters Apartments building photos by Rien Van Rijthoven