PALO ALTO, CA, January 7, 2009--The City of Palo Alto today will celebrate the construction kick-off of Fabian Way Senior, a development by BRIDGE Housing Corporation. The ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m. at 3895 Fabian Way.

Fabian Way Senior will provide high-quality, affordable apartments for very-low-income seniors as part of a larger 12-acre mixed use redevelopment of a formerly vacant industrial property. When completed in early 2010, the community will include 56 apartments on four floors of residential and common space with such amenities as private decks, a landscaped courtyard, and a community room for activities, services and classes. Twenty apartments will be set aside for seniors with special needs, whose services will be coordinated through a partnership with the Council on Aging, Silicon Valley.

Fabian Way Senior is expected to be Green Point Rated and will feature a number of environmentally sustainable building techniques, such as a solar hot-water heater that will significantly reduce the community’s energy costs.

Resident incomes will range from $21,225 to $33,960 for a household of two (25 to 40 percent of Area Median Income); rents will range from $463 to $762 per month, depending on income and household size.

“Fabian Way Senior highlights what Palo Alto can achieve for our community in partnership with the public and private sectors,” said Mayor Pete Drekmeier. “This important effort will help people who have worked hard all of their lives and who face a very difficult housing market as they retire.”

The development is part of a larger site acquired by BUILD, LLC, a partnership between BRIDGE and CalPERS. Fabian Way Senior is complemented by more than 100 for-sale townhomes and flats at Altaire as well as the Taube-Koret Campus for Jewish Life, a new nine-acre, $250 million development of assisted living for seniors, which includes a recreational facility and an intergenerational community and performing arts center.

“Together, these developments are creating an exciting new pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use, mixed-income community,” said Carol Galante, President of BRIDGE Housing. “Residents and others in the community will have access to a dynamic array of recreational, educational and neighborhood services.”

Financing for the $22.9-million property is being provided by BUILD, LLC; State of California Prop 1C Multifamily Housing Program; Silicon Valley Bank Community Development Finance; Union Bank of California, N.A.; Santa Clara County; City of Palo Alto; the Opportunity Fund; the Sobrato Family Foundation; and the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. Steinberg Architects designed Fabian Way Senior, and Segue Construction is the general contractor.

Construction kick-off speakers include California Department of Housing and Community Development Director Lynn Jacobs, Palo Alto Mayor Pete Drekmeier, Christine Carr of Silicon Valley Bank, Jonathan Klein of the Union Bank of California, and BRIDGE Housing Executive Vice President Lydia Tan.

Prospective residents may be placed on the interest list for Fabian Way Senior by calling 650.266.8227. For more information about BRIDGE Housing, visit www.bridgehousing.com.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Renderings of Fabian Way Senior are available; please contact Lyn Hikida at 415-321-3552 or lhikida@bridgehousing.com to request.