Danco Group proposes Arcata affordable housing project

Danco Group is proposing to build an affordable housing project off O Street in Arcata to address the city’s shortage of low-income housing.

“It’s obviously a need,” Danco asset manager McKenzie Dibble said. “We’re creating more affordable housing for families in Arcata.”

The O Street project would build 17 units of affordable housing on the southern portion of the former Reid and Wright Lumber Mill, according to the city. The project is still in the design phase, but Dibble said the units would be three-bedroom detached homes that include a garage and yard.

People who make an assortment of incomes will qualify.

“We’re going to be targeting families that are between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income of Humboldt County,” Dibble said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Humboldt County’s 2008-2012 median household income was $40,830.

There are a few components to the proposed $7.1 million project, Community Development Director Larry Oetker said.

“One of the key problems in old mill sites, why it’s not developed, is there’s some contamination,” Oetker said. “All of the studies to figure out what the contamination is have been completed. What’s called the remediation plans have been approved by the water control board.”

Danco has received funding to clean up the site, Oetker added. The cleanup will happen while the project is developed.

The developer applied for almost $5.6 million in tax credits from the California Tax Allocation Committee to fund the project, and the city will commit up to about $766,000 of Community Development Block Grant program income to assist with off-site infrastructure.

“If a city contributes money to a project, then it’s much more competitive,” Oetker said. “If we’re not participating, then the chances of them getting a grant is next to zero.”

Under the proposed project, three old, craftsman-style houses that were relocated from Humboldt State University to the site would be fixed up and, if feasible, sold to low-income home buyers, according to the city. Finally, Jolly Giant Creek would be realigned from its current location onto adjacent Arcata Fire Department property to remove the poor alignment and perform habitat restoration.

Councilwoman Alex Stillman said she’s happy to see the city have more housing because statistics indicate Arcata has a housing shortage.

“It’s a way for us to meet our housing needs, and also to meet our housing needs for a variety of citizens who live in Arcata,” Stillman said. “Also, it’s family housing. I think it will be good for our school systems to have more children attending school.”

Mayor Mark Wheetley agreed.

“All the preliminary looks that we’ve had at this project make it look like it would be a really nice fit for the neighborhood,” Wheetley said. “We’re hoping things move forward. We’d like to see it come to fruition.”

Oetker said if funding is awarded in September or October, construction will most likely start next summer.

Contact Lorna Rodriguez at 441-0506.