Housing Leadership Day Huge Success in San Mateo County, California
The Housing Endowment and Regional Trust—the HEART of San Mateo County—envisions a county where housing is attainable for all. The Housing Leadership Council administers the Housing Trust Fund for San Mateo County, California. An important aspect of reaching this goal is creating opportunities for residents, businesses, and others in San Mateo County to understand the importance of investing in affordable housing. As part of this effort, the Housing Leadership Council sponsored its ninth Housing Leadership Day.
The theme was Housing Plus:
Housing+Transportation,
Housing+Health,
Housing+Education, and
Housing+Jobs—each
illustrating a vital relationship that helps create stable, successful communities. In this struggling economy, where there are often no good choices, the Housing Leadership Council
is enabling participants to be fully cognizant of the impact community decisions have on neighborhoods and their residents.
The 2010 Housing Leadership Day was a success, with a sellout crowd of more than 250 people attending the event at the Oracle Conference Center. The morning plenary panel addressed housing’s relationship to:
- Business, with Omar Ahmad, entrepreneur and San Carlos City Council Member;
- Transportation, with Mike Scanlon, CEO of SamTrans, Caltrain, and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority;
- Education, with Tom Mohr, president of Cañada College; and
- Health, with Jean Fraser, chief of the San Mateo County Health System.
Following the plenary, attendees broke into small groups to address questions related to one of these issues. Participants could also join a tour of the Grand Boulevard Initiative. The Grand Boulevard Initiative is a regional collaboration dedicated to the revitalization of the El Camino Real corridor, as it runs through San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties in the California Bay Area. Other discussions focused on air quality, senior and special needs housing, and home ownership.
HEART has raised $12 million, including $3 million from San Mateo County, $2 million from the State of California Proposition 46 matching funds, $2 million from California Proposition C funds, $1.5 million from the California HFA HELP loan program, and $1 million each from Wells Fargo and Genentech.
Getting ready for the bus tour of the Grand Boulevard Initiative.
To date, HEART has invested more than $8 million for the construction, renovation, or purchase of 802 homes affordable to low and moderate income households. For every $1.00 HEART has committed to affordable housing, an additional $20.00 has been leveraged from other public and private resources.
HEART is structured as a joint powers authority and all twenty cities in San Mateo County, plus San Mateo County, are members. HEART’s volunteer Board of Directors consists of eleven elected officials and nine at large members from the private sector. HEART is staffed through a contract by the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and the San Mateo County Department of Housing.
Contact:
Christopher Mohr
Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County
139 Mitchell Avenue, Suite 108, South San Francisco, CA 94080
(650-872-4444 x1)
cmohr@hlcsmc.org
