MARINA >> Terracina at The Dunes, a new affordable, dual-site, apartment complex in Marina, had its grand opening celebration on Thursday. It is adding 142 much-needed units to the area’s constricted rental market reflected in the high demand — nearly 100% occupancy — and waiting lists for the units available through its mixed-income program.

“We only have four vacant units to rent in the second phase, so there’s tremendous demand for affordable housing,” said Geoff Brown, president and CEO of USA Properties Fund, Inc. which built and developed Terracina at The Dunes.

Terracina is an affordable apartment community totaling 142 units, offering a range of housing options for residents with incomes between 30%-70% of area median income.

“Our experience is that the more we can have a broad range in our communities, the more the tenant demand is, and that’s been true pretty much wherever we’ve developed,” said Brown.

The apartment community is possible thanks to a public-private partnership that includes Marina Community Partners (Shea Homes), USA Properties, California Housing Finance Agency, WNC and JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Blaine Sutliff and his wife Lily Burns Sutliff are “very happy residents” of Terracina at The Dunes.

Sutliff explained that they both enjoy their jobs but they are “not particularly lucrative and that makes paying for pretty much any apartment here in the Monterey Bay extremely difficult.”

Before moving to Terracina, the Sutliffs lived in a small apartment, paying almost double what they pay at Terracina, and located in “a much louder and unsafe neighborhood.”

He said they often had to choose between putting gas in their car or buying groceries. He took on a second job to pay the bills, and depleted the money set aside for a honeymoon, but still often came up short and had to borrow money to pay rent.

As the Sutliffs struggled financially, and with debt mounting, “the call from Terracina was a massive relief to us.” They had applied six months before, and now they were looking at moving into an apartment that was larger, newer, in a safer location, much more affordable and closer to work for them both.

“We have just so much more freedom in our lives in general. I no longer have to work two jobs to make ends meet,” said Sutliff. “We don’t have to choose which necessities that we can go without this week. I’ve even finally been able to return to college for the first time in 10 years.”

Sutliff ended by pointing out that frankly he and his wife would not have made it without the Terracina apartments, adding they are so happy to call the place their home.

“For those relatively few families that make their way into these, it’s fantastic for them,” said Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado before the ribbon cutting ceremony. “They can have economic security, a safe, clean, new place and maybe just as important is the neighborhood.”

Terracina at The Dunes is part of The Dunes On Monterey Bay, a master-planned community with 1,237 homes and a large shopping center that includes big-name stores and neighborhood restaurants. The soon-to-be completed Promenade at The Dunes is within walking distance of the Terracina apartments and includes a movie theater, restaurant and a soon-to-open neighborhood grocery store.

The beach is a few blocks away, along with Cal State Monterey Bay and several parks, including the future city of Marina Dunes Community Park.

The Terracina apartments allow more residents to work and live in Marina, which will benefit workers and local employers, while reducing commuter traffic and helping our local economy, Delgado added.

Two locations comprise Terracina at The Dunes apartments — Imjin Parkway at 4th Avenue has 93 units, and 2nd Avenue at 5th Street has 49 units. Each complex includes a community room, fitness room, computer stations, basketball court, picnic area, tot-lot play area and laundry rooms. Apartments feature energy-efficient appliances and light fixtures, and low-flow faucets, showers and toilets.

The Terracina apartments are pet friendly, charge no pet deposit, have a pet bathing station, a dog park and allow for up to two pets with breed restrictions, and the rent includes sewer, water and trash.

“It serves a basic need that many families have, and they can’t meet the need of affordable housing in very many places because the demand outstrips the supply so much that it’s hard to get into places where you can actually spend only 30% of your income toward your rent,” said Delgado.

One of every four renters in Monterey County is considered severely cost-burdened, spending at least 50% of their income on housing, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Terracina at The Dunes is the first apartment community for USA Properties in Monterey County and along the Central Coast, one of the priciest regions in California that also faces a critical shortage of housing.

USA Properties Fund Inc., a California corporation, is a privately-owned real estate development organization specializing in the creation of outstanding apartment communities, says the Roseville-based company.

It provides a full range of capabilities for community development, including financing, development, construction services, rehabilitation and property management.

USA Properties has developed and constructed, or acquired and rehabilitated, more than 13,500 units of family and senior apartments in more than 100 communities throughout California, Nevada, and Oregon.

The company acquired two parcels, 6.5 acres in total, for Terracina at The Dunes from Marina Community Partners LLC (Shea Homes). Marina Community Partners also provided almost $8 million to subsidize the development on the former Fort Ord Army base that closed three decades ago.

The subsidy coupled with a public-private partnership that includes the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), JPMorgan Chase Bank and WNC made the $71 million project possible.

CalHFA issued tax-exempt bonds for the project and provided a long-term permanent loan and subsidy funds through its Mixed-Income Program, according to USA Properties. Under the state program, residents can earn a wider range of income levels and still qualify for Terracina at The Dunes compared to traditional affordable housing requirements.

With the Mixed-Income Program, households earning 30% to 70% of the area’s median income — about $35,760 to $83,440 for a three-person household — could qualify for Terracina at The Dunes.

For households at 30% of the area median income, a two-bedroom apartment at Terracina could be rented for $823 a month, and households at 70% could rent a two-bedroom for $2,015.

These projects are very difficult to put together with the various entities that need to be involved, said Brown. At times the legislation in the state makes it even more difficult.

“We constantly need to come up with ways to reduce regulation to help reduce costs,” he said.

Occupancy at USA properties in its portfolio is 97-98% which includes more than 12,000 units of affordable housing in California.

“That’s the industry, which tells you we have a huge supply problem, we don’t have a demand problem,” said Brown.

Affordable housing is a conduit to education, healthcare, transportation, energy and it helps alleviate homelessness, he said.

“We’re very impactful and we always have to try to do whatever we can to promote ways where we can help reduce red tape to get these projects built,” said Brown.

There is a critical need, so that’s something USA Properties will continue to do on its end to promote because it is imperative, he said.

“For MCP, which is now really Shea Homes, this marks 250 affordable units that we’ve brought to The Dunes community all before we closed market-rate housing,” said Don Hofer, vice president for Shea Homes in Northern California.

“Our first 108 units … our University Villages Apartments which has been here for quite awhile. This adds to the affordable stock or the affordable opportunity that exists in this community and we’re so proud of it.”