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Related California and City of Santa Ana celebrate grand opening of Triada

Santa Ana, Calif. (June 3, 2013) -- Related California, the City of Santa Ana Redevelopment and community members celebrated the grand opening of Triada Court, Triada Gardens and Triada Village, which together form a new community of affordable apartment homes in the Lacy Neighborhood of the Santa Ana Station District.

The new apartment community includes 114 new apartment homes on scattered sites in a combination of new construction and historic rehabilitation. Together they make up the first major development to complete construction under the City’s new Transit Zoning Code which promotes transit-oriented development in the area surrounding the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center (SARTC).

“This project serves as an extraordinary example of Santa Ana’s commitment to provide quality affordable housing for the community as an outgrowth of a comprehensive and collaborative approach to planning and development. Careful planning, selection of the right development team, and the involvement of the community has created a remarkable housing opportunity, one that adds to the vitality of the neighborhood and city as a whole,” Mayor Miguel Pulido.

The City of Santa Ana Redevelopment Agency selected related California, along with Joint Venture Partner Griffin Realty Corporation in 2009 through a competitive Request for Qualifications Process as Master Developer for the Station District. The Station District, which encompasses 94 acres of land to the west of the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center and is generally situated within in the Lacy neighborhood, has been a focal point of City and County transportation, infrastructure and transit-oriented development planning.

“Related is very proud of this development, which is our first partnership with the City of Santa Ana,” said Bill Witte, Related California’s president and CEO. “As a company committed to building the highest quality affordable housing, sustainable infill development, and revitalizing communities, we are excited about this project and the larger vision it begins to implement in the Station District.”

“There is a tremendous need for affordable family housing in our community where overcrowding and substandard housing conditions are all too prevalent for our low income families,” said Councilwoman Michele Martinez. “The opening of this development means so much to our community because it symbolizes hope and the American dream.”

According to Witte, one of the most outstanding aspects and unique challenges of project design was planning development on 10 City-owned sites scattered throughout the existing Lacy neighborhood. The project’s design was driven both by respect for the existing neighborhood context and promoting transit/pedestrian oriented urban building forms. It also included a historic rehabilitation component. “This is a unique neighborhood which necessitated a unique development solution,” said Witte, “We are pleased to have had such a successful collaboration with the City and the community to make the vision a reality.”

“Triada is great example of a successful private and public redevelopment partnership that enhances the quality of life for lower income families and improves neighborhoods in the City of Santa Ana. Having addressed the community's priorities through a collaborative planning process, this development process has really created a cohesive community by providing important neighborhood amenities to residents, such as an on-site child care center and a community center at the neighborhood school,” added Cesar Covarrubias, Executive Director of the Kennedy Commission.

Collaboration with the community as part of this effort has also resulted in additional Station District improvement projects that the City has recently completed or initiated. These include the Lacy neighborhood Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - funded sewer and water improvements as well as the upgrading of street lighting fixtures in conjunction with Southern California Edison to help improve nighttime safety conditions. A 10,000 square foot Community Center is also being developed in partnership with the Santa Ana Unified School District at Garfield Elementary School. The community center is expected to open in ____2013.

The apartment community’s three components include:

  • Triada Court at The Station District: 74 units new construction affordable family housing on a single site
  • Triada Gardens at the Station District: 25 units new construction affordable housing on scattered sites
  • Triada Village at The Station District: 15 units historic rehabilitation affordable family housing on scattered sites



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  • The project was developed in two phases with two allocations of 9% low income housing tax credits in accordance with a master plan developed by Related in partnership with the City of Santa Ana on a collection of vacant City owned scattered sites. The development targets large families earning 30%-50% of the Area Median Income and was financed with tax credit equity and conventional debt provided by Wells Fargo. In addition to traditional design and engineering standards, they are designed and constructed to “Build It Green” standards. 450 construction jobs were created or generated from this development.

    About Triada
    Triada Court includes 74 large family apartment units comprised of fifty-one 2-bedroom units and twenty-three 3-bedroom units. The residential units are designed as two story townhomes constructed as Type V wood structure, some of which will wrap around a Type I (concrete) at grade garage at street level with street facing stoops, and some of which are be constructed atop the at grade garage and be oriented around podium level courtyards. The developer and City collaborated with the County’s Child Care Program Coordinator to facilitate development of the center. A 1,500 square foot retail space accommodates a neighborhood amenity such as a café, or gallery to serve as a community gathering space strategically located across from Garfield Elementary, the natural center of the neighborhood. Public art is incorporated in the same location further anchoring the center of community and was developed by local artist Jules Rochelle who engaged with the Garfield Elementary School students in the artwork so as to promote integration of the new development with the existing neighborhood and foster a sense of community ownership. The City is also planning a neighborhood-oriented exercise park for a small lot across the street from the school to the east.

    Resident parking spaces is covered and secured within the interior garage. Guest parking and retail parking is available in at-grade open parking accessible from 6th street. Other onsite amenities include podium level common courtyard/open spaces, tot lot, BBQ areas, common laundry room (in addition to washer/dryer hookups in the 3 bedroom units), on site property management offices, conference room, and social service spaces including multipurpose room, offices, and computer lab.

    Triada Gardens is comprised of 25 new construction units including fifteen 2-bedroom units and ten 3-bedroom units constructed as two-story town homes and second story carriage units with a combination of tuck under and standalone garage parking at grade.

    Triada Village is comprised of 15 rehab units including five 1-bedroom units, seven 2-bedroom units and three 3-bedroom units. These units are located in ten buildings including seven single family homes, two duplexes and one fourplex. Surface parking for the rehab units is provided on site with carports.

    Triada Village and Triada Gardens were financed as a scattered sites affordable housing development utilizing one allocation of 9% tax credits. Project amenities include common courtyard spaces, common laundry facilities (in addition to washer/dryer hookups in the 3-bedroom units). Project residents also have access to common area facilities in Triada Court which is located either across the street or one block away from each of the six scattered sites in this phase.

    About Related California