We know that housing is unaffordable, with a six-figure income required in order to afford an average rental apartment in Santa Clara County and a more than $250,000 income required to purchase the median-priced home. Certainly some of the reason for the cost is basic supply and demand—we are not building sufficient housing to meet the demand for the many jobs being added, or to meet the natural increase in family formation. The other critical factor is simply the cost of building in this high cost area, where land costs alone can exceed the median home price in other parts of the country.

The first two sessions in the series dove into the costs of building housing, market rate and affordable. We now shift our focus toward specific mechanisms that influence the cost of housing development. We spent the third session on retail feasibility and its impact on housing development costs.

On December 6th, we will finish our series with a discussion of parking, its high costs for development, and innovative solutions that are being piloted. Representatives from the local government and developer communities will provide more information about determining the costs of parking, and possible solutions. Please join us for the discussion!

Confirmed Panelists:

Paul Nieto, Executive Vice President, Signature Development Group

Aaron Aknin Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director, Redwood City

Moderator:

Ann Cheng, Green TRIP Program Director, TransForm