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January 20, 2021 <br />Mayor Howard, Vice Mayor Hale, and City Council Members <br />c/o Diana O'Dell, Senior Planner of Redwood City <br />City of Redwood City, Community Development Department <br />via Email (dodell(a�)redwoodcitg.org) <br />RE: Sequoia Station Update <br />Dear Honorable Mayor Howard, Vice Mayor Hale, and City Council Members, <br />We are writing regarding the upcoming Council meeting on January 25, 2020, where both the Transit <br />District and Sequoia Station property will be discussed. We urge you to allow this project to move <br />forward in the planning process and support the density and mix of uses that supports both transportation <br />improvements and the development of affordable housing. <br />Housing Trust Silicon Valley has been a part of the development of almost 20,000 housing opportunities <br />throughout the greater Bay Area for 20 years. We believe that our communities are more diverse, <br />sustainable, and vibrant when everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to live. When developers <br />partner with a lender that both navigates financing reliability and is also a trusted leader in addressing <br />affordable housing in the community, affordable housing becomes a reality. <br />More specifically, we have worked with Eden Housing for many years and have collaborated with them <br />on six developments in the last six years and have first-hand experience that Eden is a premier developer <br />of quality, accessible affordable housing. Through our many years of providing acquisition loans for Eden <br />we can attest that Eden not only delivers a high-quality building but also provides high-quality long-term <br />property management and stewardship of thew developments — becoming a valuable member of the <br />communities they do business in. <br />As a lender focused on affordable housing, we know that the greatest challenge for an affordable housing <br />developer is land acquisition, followed by the inaccuracies and stereotypes people put on affordable <br />housing developments. While we believe the latter has become more understood, the former remains of <br />critical concern. It is incredibly difficult to secure land to construct affordable units, and often the only <br />way to fund successful land acquisition is through partnerships with market rate commercial and housing <br />developers. Specific to Sequoia Station, we expect the commercial portion is driving this affordable <br />housing development and unlocking the opportunity to provide up to 225 very low, low, and moderate - <br />income homes. <br />The opportunity to provide the largest affordable housing project in Redwood City that is directly <br />adjacent to transit, supplies much-needed affordable family homes, and helps advance Caltrain's <br />expansion is one that we fully support. <br />We look forward to this project moving forward towards the next steps of the process. <br />Sincerely, <br />;owald <br />ef Financial Officer <br />cc: Andrea Osgood, Vice President Eden Housing <br />