Fairview Terrace, a long awaited senior housing development, recently celebrated its first factory-built homes being placed in South Stockton.
Mutual Housing California held a celebration on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 2222 S. Airport Way in Stockton for its new factory-built affordable housing community. Those in attendance included partners like the city of Stockton, Stocktonians Taking Action to Neutralize Drugs (STAND), the California Energy Commission, Health Net and more.
When completed, Fairview Terrace, a four-story factory-built affordable housing community, will have 76 affordable homes for seniors age 55 and older. The homes will serve households earning around 30% to 60% of the area median income.
‘Game-changing’ affordable housing at scale
"Today we’re not simply setting the first
homes at Fairview Terrace—we’re setting in motion what we believe can become a game-changing way to deliver affordable housing at scale in California," Craig Adelman, CEO of Mutual Housing California, said in a joint news release. "Fairview Terrace brings together factory-built construction, clean-energy innovation and deeply rooted community partnerships in one project. Stockton gave an experienced nonprofit developer like Mutual Housing the opportunity to partner with STAND and turn a community-identified need into 76 affordable homes for seniors."
Adelman told The Record that the project began about three to four months ago. The first unit was installed on Tuesday, he said.
"At Health Net, we know that where people live has a profound impact on their health and well-being," said Amber Kemp, vice president of Medi-Cal Strategy, Execution, and Engagement at Health Net. "For older adults, particularly those with fixed incomes, having a safe and affordable place to call home provides stability and makes it easier to stay connected to healthcare, family, friends and community."
Health Net presented Mutual Housing California with a $3 million check on Thursday.
The city of Stockton contributed nearly $9 million in HOME and Permanent Local Housing Allocation funding. The Housing Accelerator Fund provided $2.5 million in pre-development financing through its Industrialized Construction Catalyst Fund. Additionally, Walker & Dunlop Affordable Housing Equity is supporting the project as its Tax Credit Investor, and First Citizens Bank is supporting the project with Fairview Terrace construction financing.
"First Citizens Bank is proud to invest in our communities and support Mutual Housing California and this milestone at Fairview Terrace," said Fiona Hsu, head of Community Development Finance for First Citizens. "Today’s home setting demonstrates how innovation and collaboration can help expand affordable housing opportunities and create greater stability for Stockton seniors, and we’re thrilled to be part of it."
Fairview Terrace is expected to be completed in summer 2027, according to Mutual Housing California.
Fairview Terrace
Fairview Terrace is part of a six project factory-built housing pipeline with plans to add more than 660 affordable homes across Northern California over the next three to four years, Mutual Housing California officials said.
Mutual Housing California is a Sacramento based nonprofit affordable housing developer property managerand resident services provider that creates permanent affordable housing across Northern California. This is their first community in San Joaquin County.
All six projects will be in different jurisdictions. These include Stockton, Sacramento, Elk Grove, Vacaville, and Sacramento and Yuba counties.
Mutual Housing California said Fairview Terrace in Stockton was led by STAND.
STAND is a neighborhood group that formed in the 1980s to help reduce crime in the neighborhood through community policing and supporting seniors and the youth.
Fred Sheil, STAND administrator, said the nonprofit acquired the land from the city of Stockton in 2018. After contracting with another housing developer and being turned down, STAND found Mutual Housing California, Sheil said.
"After 18 years of work, sweat, anxious moments, and significant early investment by our community-based nonprofit, we can now quickly see the results," Sheil said in the news release. "Thanks to our nonprofit board of 100 percent senior neighborhood-residing women who made this all possible."
Sheil's said in the general area of the intersection next to the project, from 7th Street down to 10th Street, there was drug and gang activity. However, he said all that is now gone.
"We've gotten rid of it all. The city's gotten rid of it all. We're one of the safest neighborhoods in the city," Sheil said. "Crime is driven by slumlord store owners, slumlord residential owners, and they're preying on poor neighborhoods. It is purely predatory."
Sheil said the city has done a better job at addressing issues in the south side and east side of Stockton, but he said there's still way to go.
"Let's continue developing Airport Way," Sheil said. "There are lots and lots of vacant lots from Charter Way all the way down to the warehouses."
For the project, the apartment modules are built off-site while site and foundation work continues at the same time. When ready, the modules are transported to the site and are set into place by crane, according to the news release.
"Because seniors play an important part of our lives because they are the root. They started out young and they migrated and they came into Southeast Stockton and tried to raise their kids and things of that nature," STAND Board President Virginia Gorman said. "That's why we took it upon ourselves. It's not about us, it's about the community. It's about Southeast Stockton and Stockton as a whole. We took it upon ourselves to try to make it better."
Fairview Terrace will be an all-electric development. Support from the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program will help incorporate advanced clean-energy technology, including a community microgrid, according to the news release.
"Fairview Terrace is just the sort of housing California needs to thrive now and far into the future: affordable, all-electric and climate resilient," said Andrew McAllister, commissioner of the California Energy Commission.
To learn more about Mutual Housing California, visit mutualhousing.com.
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers business and community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Fairview Terrace brings 76 affordable homes for south Stockton seniors
