Ninety-nine new apartment homes open in West Oakland's Central Station neighborhood

OAKLAND, CA, March 10, 2010--West Oakland today will celebrate the grand opening of Ironhorse at Central Station, a development by BRIDGE Housing Corporation. The grand opening ceremony commences at 11 a.m. at 1801 14th Street, between Wood Street and Frontage Road.

The 99-apartment community contains a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes affordable to individuals and families with annual incomes ranging from $18,000 to $50,000. Twenty of the apartments are being made affordable to those with the lowest incomes, through rent subsidies administered by the Oakland Housing Authority.

Ironhorse features numerous sustainable or "green" building and landscaping measures, including vegetated roofs, solar photovoltaics and bioswales that naturally filter rainwater. Ironhorse, BRIDGE's first property to participate in the Bay Friendly landscaping program, received a GreenPoint Rating of 146 points (nearly three times the score needed to qualify for the certification program).

"We are committed to creating energy- and resource-efficient homes that are cost-effective, good for the environment and healthier places to live," said Cynthia A. Parker, President and CEO of BRIDGE Housing. "Ironhorse demonstrates that it's possible to incorporate significant green measures into affordable multifamily homes."

The apartment community stands at the center of an exciting reintegration of approximately 29 acres of abandoned former industrial land into the surrounding residential neighborhood. It forms part of Central Station, a new master-planned undertaking by several developers including BUILD, an affiliate of BRIDGE. Altogether more than 1,200 new homes will be constructed, along with new neighborhood-serving retail and the anticipated restoration of the historic 16th Street Station.

Financing for Ironhorse was provided by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Oakland, California Department of Housing & Community Development, Oakland Housing Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Union Bank of California NA, US Bancorp Community Development Corporation and Wachovia Mortgage, FSB. The architect is David Baker + Partners and the general contractor is J.H. Fitzmaurice, Inc.

Confirmed grand opening ceremony speakers include: Nancy J. Nadel, Councilmember, District 3, City of Oakland; Lynn Jacobs, Director, California Department of Housing and Community Development; Jeff Levin, Acting Deputy Director of Housing and Community Development, Community and Economic Development Agency, City of Oakland; Annette Billingsley, Senior Vice President, Union Bank; Jasmine Hudson, Ironhorse resident; and BRIDGE Housing President & CEO Cynthia A. Parker.
      
For more information about Ironhorse at Central Station and BRIDGE Housing, visit www.bridgehousing.com.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Photographs of Ironhorse at Central Station are available; please contact Lyn Hikida at 415-321-3552 or lhikida@bridgehousing.com to request.