Low-income apartment renovation moves forward

Teresa Rodriguez admires her newly refurbished apartment Thursday where redevelopment funds are being used to modernize the 200 units of Sunny Meadows affordable housing community. (Photos by Tarmo Hannula).

WATSONVILLE — The floors were new, the bathrooms were gleaming and the appliances were pristine.

That’s what the residents of Sunny Meadows apartments found when returned to their residences Thursday after a six-month renovation project displaced them.

The four-stage project to refurbish the 200 units at Sunny Meadows at 220 Ross Avenue is being conducted by non-profit MidPen Housing, which purchased the complex in 2010.

The original owner, Green Valley Apartments, was a nonprofit group made up of United Presbyterian and First United Methodist churches. When the time came to sell, they wanted the complex to go to an owner that wanted to keep the units affordable for low-income people.

Today, the units are occupied by individuals and families with incomes no greater than 60 percent of the area median income. Rents range from $469 for the least expensive studio apartment to $1,090 for the most expensive four-bedroom apartment.

For the complete article see the 08-18-2012 issue.

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