Why the Gambles Took a Gamble on 951 Pope Street

When OTSH and its partner, Napa Valley Community Housing, were in the throes of assembling financing for the approved 963 Pope Street project, the adjacent property at 951 Pope Street came on the market. OTSH founder John Sales met with Jim Gamble, a Board Member of the St. Helena Hospital Foundation, and presented a conceptual plan for 951 Pope Street that would double the number of units from 5 to 10 if combined with 963 Pope. As a result of that meeting, Jim and Stephanie Gamble made a very generous donation to OTSH to purchase the property from the Hospital Foundation, a true win-win for both organizations.

“Stephanie and I love this town and it’s an honor to give back to a community that has given so much to us. Steph and I were aware of the 963 Pope St. project. When 951 Pope Street came on the market and we saw how the project would double in size by combining the properties, it was a project we wanted to be part of, “ Jim reflected.

Once OTSH purchased the property, the next challenge was to design the project, get City approvals, and obtain funding to pay for development. It only made sense to build the project concurrently with 963 Pope Street, which already had approved funding through the State of California, the City of St Helena, and other sources. Delaying the 963 project would have put that funding in jeopardy. So OTSH decided to raise private funding for the construction of 951, and Jim and Stephanie agreed to serve at the helm of OTSH’s fundraising campaign.

“We formed a fund-raising committee which included Elaine John, Mary Stephenson, John Sales, Doug Cutting, Stephanie and myself. This team was incredible and reached out to like-minded folks in the community that understood the urgent need for affordable housing for our workforce. The response was overwhelming. In only 4 months, we had raised $3.05 million through private donations. Enough to break ground at the same time as 963 Pope Street, and enough to fully fund the 951 part of the project,” said Jim.

And now, both sites are under construction, something that would not have been possible without the vision and generous hearts of Stephanie and Jim, as well as those who provided donations, grants and loans in support of the project.