Daly City – The Serramonte del Rey Faculty Housing for Jefferson Union High School District was recently featured in an article by AP News. SVA’s work is a pioneering effort to tackle housing affordability in the Bay Area. Jefferson UHSD is a 4,000-student school district south of San Francisco that was losing roughly a quarter of its staff every year due in large part to housing affordability. So in 2017-2018, officials came up with a plan to address recruitment and retention, including a $75 million housing complex for teachers and staff financed in part by a $30 million bond measure approved by voters in 2018.

Homes range from approximately 640 – 1,270 sq. ft., with rental rates estimated at 50% of market rate at the time of occupancy. The buildings are Type 5, three and four-story structures with 200 parking spaces in a combination of structured parking as well as surface parking. There are multiple washers and dryers on every floor, a bike room and meeting rooms where teachers can socialize or collaborate on lessons.

About 80 employees are to move in by fall and another 30 are applying, including about a dozen new hires, said Tina Van Raaphorst, associate superintendent of business services. The average annual salary of residents is $62,300, and includes janitors, cafeteria workers and bus drivers who earn far less than teachers.

The full article is available here, highlighting many of the voices of teachers and faculty who will have new, affordable homes.