EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE A St. Helena landlord I know recently had an apartment for rent in town. It was a 2-bedroom, 1-bath, upstairs unit with one assigned parking space. The monthly rent is $1,850 and the landlord covers water and garbage. Here is a sampling of applicants who ultimately were Read more…
Developing affordable housing is more expensive and takes longer to build than market-rate homes. But why? Here are the major challenges Our Town St. Helena (OTSH) faces as we develop our Pope Street Workforce Housing project (10 units) and the Fountain Street project (approximately 40 units). Complex Financing When the Read more…
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Hello friends! It is already approaching April and it seems we haven’t come up for air since January to check in and share lots of good news. First, Our Town St. Helena (OTSH) wrapped up 2022 with a very successful end-of-year fundraising campaign. Because of your kind Read more…
What do you do when you can’t find affordable housing near your job? You find the next best option. For 78 percent of the people working in St. Helena, that means commuting. Thirty percent of St. Helena’s workforce commutes from the city of Napa, about 38 miles round-trip. For almost Read more…
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I am in great company with a supportive board and professional team to help guide us forward. We finished 2021 with a successful year-end donor drive and I want to thank everyone who gave generously to our mission to preserve and build housing that is affordable to people Read more…
The Star, Jesse Duarte, November 20, 2021 Our Town St. Helena is set to expand its Pope Street housing project after acquiring an adjacent parcel. Our Town closed escrow in October on 951 Pope. The property is next door to 963 Pope, where Our Town was already planning a five-unit Read more…
“Low income should not be confused with low quality,” Kevin says. “These homes are very well built.” He says he likes working with the families, and enjoys the everchanging work as the houses progress. “It was exciting to see the walls go up, the roofs go on, then the windows and now thefamilies are installing kitchen cabinets and flooring.”
Project Manager Larry Vermeulen was delighted to have the extra help and wasted no time in finding jobs for the entire team. They cleaned up the site, loaded trash onto the trailer, and spread backfill. The hardy took a turn at digging the gas-line trench. “If other corporate teams would donate a morning or afternoon shift focusing on a specific task like this, it would significantly move us forward,” said Vermeulen.
2021 Was a Big Year for Our Town St. Helena Purchased the four-unit Christine Apartments and preserved the rents at affordable levels for 55 years Thanks to a significant private donation, purchased property on Pope Street adjacent to property we own, allowing us to expand our approved five-unit Workforce Village to ten units Read more…
Our purchase was made possible by a generous donation to OTSH from Jim and Stephanie Gamble. “It is essential that local families and organizations support the preservation of existing housing and the building new homes for our workforce,” said Jim Gamble. “We are happy to invest in OTSH’s project to help grow the well-being of our community.”