Why
Our buildings are between 50 and over 100 years old. We have been making incremental improvements such as two community pop-up parks, but ultimately, maintenance and small-scale improvements alone won’t be enough to keep up the buildings and our shared spaces at the high quality that our community deserve. More significant improvements are needed, and in Summer 2018, we began a process of exploring how to do. Since then, we’ve been in dialog with the tenants, the broader Woodland Park community, and other local stakeholders to determine how to best fulfill our Core Principles. Throughout, our goal has been to make improvements in a way that improves the quality of life for the Improvement Area tenants, all Woodland Park tenants, and the wider East Palo Alto community.
Core Principles
- No Displacement
- Preserve Housing Affordability + Stability*
- Community Informed Plan
- Better Parking and Mobility
- Safer, Healthier Buildings
*New core principle that we’ve added based on community feedback.
Core Principles
Based on Westside Area Plan and Community Input
No Displacement
All existing tenants will always be able to stay at Woodland Park. They will be relocated to other Woodland Park units during construction and have the right to remain at their same rent-stabilized rents.
Preserve Housing Affordability + Stability
Our plan will replace all existing rent-controlled units one-for-one, to preserve the rent stabilization program, ensure housing stability for future tenants, and lock-in the below-market rents of our existing tenants.
Community Informed Plans
We value community input and create opportunities to engage with our tenants and the community. We actively sought input and feedback to create the current plan and will continue to do so as the project further develops.
Better Parking and Mobility
We often hear about tenants’ desire for better parking and more options for getting around. Our plans will include better parking and mobility options, as well as improved options for walking, biking, and transit wherever possible.
Safer, Healthier Buildings
The buildings at Woodland Park are between 50 and over 100 years old, and many are at the end of their useful life. They were built inexpensively to old standards, and were not always cared for by previous owners. We will create safer, healthier buildings that meet or exceed modern seismic and other life safety standards.
Projects
Euclid Improvements
With no displacement, these improvements propose to replace outdated apartment buildings in the Euclid Avenue area of Woodland Park with a new mixed-income community. All existing rent-stabilized units will be replaced on a one-for-one basis and ensure that all existing tenants will always be able to stay at Woodland Park. In addition, new homes will be added to increase the overall housing supply and create a more diverse, mixed-income community.
Building on years of community engagement and collaboration, the Euclid Improvements are designed to deliver safe, high-quality housing, along with new neighborhood amenities including a local park, community spaces, and neighborhood-serving retail. These new buildings and public spaces will significantly improve living conditions for existing residents while bringing new opportunities for families across a range of income levels.
The Euclid Improvements serve as the foundation for the broader Woodland Park revitalization effort and establish the model being used for the O’Keefe-Manhattan and West Bayshore-Newell Improvements. Together, these projects will create a single, cohesive, well-connected neighborhood that reflects the goals and vision of the City of East Palo Alto’s Westside Area Plan and General Plan.
O’Keefe-Manhattan Improvements
With no displacement, these improvements propose to update or replace aging, outdated structures on the Westside of East Palo Alto, by a) substantially renovating several apartment buildings, b) building new for-sale townhomes, and c) building new mixed-income apartment buildings. We will retain and renovate rent-stabilized units, increase the housing supply, and provide better parking and mobility options.
Building upon our experience in proposing, refining, and gaining acceptance of our Euclid Improvements plan over the past few years, we are acting on broad community feedback requesting the improvement of more of our buildings across Woodland Park. Adjacent to and connected to the Euclid Improvements, renovated and new housing will be provided along East O’Keefe Street and Manhattan Avenue with additional improvements along Euclid Avenue, including frontage and streetscape improvements to the Euclid Improvements to ensure there is a single, cohesive neighborhood feel and improved connectivity for all. These improvements celebrate the vision and goals of the city’s Westside Area Plan and are fully compliant with the city’s General Plan.
West Bayshore-Newell Improvements
With no displacement, these improvements propose to update or replace aging, outdated structures west of Highway 101 and south of University Avenue, by a) substantially renovating several apartment buildings, b) building new for-sale townhomes, and c) building new mixed-income apartment buildings. We will retain and renovate rent-stabilized units, increase the housing supply, and provide better parking and mobility options.
Building upon our experience in proposing, refining, and gaining acceptance of our Euclid Improvements plan over the past few years, we are acting on broad community feedback to improve more of our buildings across Woodland Park. In October, we submitted the O’Keefe-Manhattan Improvements pre-application for a similar proposal north of University Avenue. The West Bayshore-Newell Improvements will similarly provide renovated and new housing along West Bayshore Avenue and Newell Road. These collective Improvements will ensure there is a single, cohesive neighborhood feel and improved connectivity for all. These improvements celebrate the vision and goals of the city’s Westside Area Plan and are fully compliant with the city’s General Plan.
Guaranteeing No Displacement and Preserving Housing Affordability + Stability
What we heard:
Because of previous owners, tenants may be wary to trust our promises about relocation and No Displacement.
Additionally, there is a desire to preserve housing affordability and stability, especially for long-time residents.
What we’re proposing:
Relocation Commitments
- Will issue all relocation commitments in writing, signed by the ownership
- Have been and will continue to work with the East Palo Alto Rent Board, City staff, Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto, and other stakeholders
- Relocation Commitment highlights include:
– The right to a replacement apartment at Woodland Park during construction and a right to remain at Woodland Park
– Guarantees to pay the same rent that they otherwise would be paying and to receive an apartment with the same number of bedrooms
– Moves by a qualified, insured moving company fully paid for by Woodland Park
Rent Control
- Rent Control was the foundation of the incorporation of East Palo Alto as a city, and our goal is to preserve it, as discussed in the Westside Area Plan.
- Rent Control (also known as Rent Stabilization) ensures that any tenant that has been in place for more than one year will pay below market rent.
- Unlike income-restricted affordable housing, there are no qualifications based on income, wealth, immigration status, or household composition.
- Rent Control is the only form of housing affordability that favors long-term residents with deeper affordability than newcomers.
