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Pre-Commitments of $10,727,571 of Affordable Housing Funds for Habitat for Humanity <br />March 4, 2025 <br />Page 2 <br />4 <br />8 <br />5 <br />0 <br />issuance of a Request for Proposals approved by City Council, staff is now <br />recommending an award of over $10.7 million to produce 49 new affordable ownership <br />opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. The homes would be developed <br />and purchased by Habitat for Humanity of Orange County at two sites. If approved by <br />City Council, this will be the single largest investment in affordable ownership <br />opportunities in the history of the City of Santa Ana. This will also double the number of <br />affordable homes that Habitat for Humanity of Orange County has created in the City <br />and will be the highest number of affordable homes they have created in any city in <br />Orange County. If this award is approved, the City of Santa Ana will have invested over <br />$15.8 million in new funding for affordable homeownership opportunities over the last <br />three years. <br />DISCUSSION <br />On October 17, 2023, the City Council authorized the Community Development Agency <br />(“CDA”) to release a Fiscal Year 2023-24 Request for Proposals (“RFP # 23-156”) to <br />develop affordable ownership projects in the City of Santa Ana (“City”) with funding from <br />the HOME Investment Partnerships (“HOME”) Program (Exhibit 1). The RFP was <br />prepared in compliance with the City’s Affordable Housing Funds Policies and <br />Procedures. The RFP was published on the City’s website and Planet Bids; a public <br />notice was published in the OC Register on October 25, 2023; and an e-mail was sent <br />out to Orange County’s largest affordable housing membership associations, interested <br />developers, and nonprofit organizations from CDA’s RFP Process Database. <br />A Review Panel, composed of City staff from the Community Development Agency and <br />Planning and Building Agency together with an affordable housing consultant, used the <br />Scoring and Selection Criteria from the RFP to review all of the proposals. Habitat for <br />Humanity of Orange County, Jamboree Housing, THRIVE Santa Ana, Mary Erikson, <br />and Orange County Community Housing Corporation (“OCCHC”) each submitted a <br />proposal during the period that the RFP was open. Jamboree Housing and THRIVE <br />Santa Ana ended up withdrawing their proposals. The proposal from OCCHC that was <br />scored and reviewed did not meet the minimum threshold requirements and the <br />proposal from Mary Erikson was determined to be infeasible because it was cost <br />prohibitive. Following this review and scoring process, and substantial due diligence, the <br />Review Panel is recommending the following awards for two projects for Habitat for <br />Humanity to create 49 new affordable ownership opportunities: <br />Developer: Habitat for Humanity of Orange County <br />•621 W. Alton Avenue: $9,807,571 in HOME Program funds for the <br />development of 40 new affordable ownership units including 30 homes <br />for low-income families at 80% Area Median Income (“AMI”) and 10 <br />homes for moderate-income families at 120% AMI. <br />•425 E. Wellington Avenue: Up to $920,000 in Inclusionary Housing <br />Funds for eligible homebuyers to purchase nine (9) existing rental units <br />that will be converted into affordable ownership condominium units