PHASE 3

Joint Venture Partnerships

Building new affordable homes through partnerships

Building new affordable housing from the ground up is the most complex path to new units, but it is also the one with the greatest long-term potential. New construction expands the total supply of housing in the Valley, creates homes designed specifically for the families who need them most, and can be built on underutilized land that is not currently serving anyone.

This work requires expertise in tax credit finance, construction management, and regulatory compliance that typically takes years to develop. Rather than trying to build all of those capabilities independently, we partner with established regional housing developers who already have them. We bring what they cannot replicate: deep local relationships, community trust, political credibility during the permitting process, and nonprofit sponsor status that unlocks competitive funding pools not available to private developers. They bring the financial capacity and technical execution.

In practice, we look for underutilized land held by local institutions, including faith congregations, school districts, and the City of Sonoma itself, and connect promising sites to capable development partners. We lead the community engagement process that determines whether a project earns neighborhood support, often the phase where local opposition kills a project. We co-own the completed buildings and share in the long-term revenues, using our share of project fees to build the organizational reserves that make future projects possible.

What we each bring

Sonoma Valley Commons Brings

  • Relationships with local landowners, including churches, school districts, and the City

  • Community credibility during the entitlement process, where local opposition most often kills projects

  • Nonprofit sponsor status that unlocks tax credit funding pools not available to private developers

  • Knowledge of what Sonoma Valley families actually need from their housing

Our Developer Partner Brings

  • Predevelopment funding and construction financing

  • Tax credit application expertise and established relationships with investors

  • Construction management from permit application to final occupancy

  • The financial track record that lenders and state agencies require

Inspired by what is already working nearby

Our Town St. Helena partnered with Burbank Housing to develop 39 affordable apartments on a vacant site in St. Helena, accessing a rural tax credit funding pool that neither organization could have competed for independently. EPACANDO, a community organization in East Palo Alto, co-developed 38 family-sized apartments with MidPen Housing in a genuine co-ownership structure, with EPACANDO leading community design and MidPen providing construction expertise. Both organizations share in long-term ownership and revenues.

Target Timeline

Developer relationship-building and site identification in Years 1 and 2. First project construction targeted for Years 3 to 5.

Developer relationship-building and site identification in Years 1 and 2. First project construction targeted for Years 3 to 5.

Projected Impact

40 to 60 units per completed project. A realistic ten-year goal is two to three joint venture projects, adding 80-120 deed-restricted homes to the Valley while generating organizational revenues that fund our next round of work.