Creating Livable Communities

Category — Rochdale Grange

Neigbhorhood Partners Gets National Recognition from Alside Brands

NPLLC’s Rochdale Grange featured on WC cover of Alside brochure (photo by blackstoneedge.com)

Neighorhood Partners, LLC, is proud to announce that our Rochdale Grange project, located in Woodland, California, was not only photographed by Blackstone Edge Studios for Alside Windows and Doors, but the imagery was also chosen for use on the cover of Alside brands new West Coast Fairfield 70 Series brochure. Other images taken of our 44 unit complex are seen in the brochure’s interior. These Fairfield 70 fusion welded vinyl windows and doors were an excellent choice for this project and will be used again in our next project  – Heritage Commons – a 120 unit senior housing campus located in Dixon, California. Ground breaking ceremonies for Heritage Commons this Friday, May 18th. Watch here for more info on the event.

You can view the entire brochure here.

May 16, 2012   No Comments

Rochdale Grange Community Grand Opening October 5th

Rochdale Grange celebrates its Grand Opening October 5, 2011 @ 10:30 a.m.

Rochdale Grange Celebrates Grand Opening

On October 5th at 10:30am, Rochdale Grange will celebrate its Grand Opening. Rochdale Grange is a new community of 44 affordable townhomes that, with hard work and a little luck, have been built and will now become home to Woodland residents. The public is invited to attend. The site is located at 2090 Heritage Parkway (off County Road 102) in Woodland. To celebrate the development’s completion, the developers and general managing partner are hosting a grand opening celebration that includes a ribbon-cutting and site tour. Confirmed speakers include Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, Woodland Mayor Art Pimentel, Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Rexroad and New Hope CDC and YCH Chairman Jim Provenza. Added to that, the Mayor of Rochdale, England, has sent on special greetings to the Mayor of Woodland for the event.

The grand opening of Rochdale Grange coincides with October’s annual “Housing America” national campaign to highlight America’s 70 year investment in a decent home and living environment for all Americans. Rochdale Grange is one of four projects in California being recognized during this event. On hand will be Bill Fagan, President of the California Association of Housing Authorities (CAHA) to make a presentation.

At only $1,059 dollars per unit direct city subsidy, Rochdale Grange is Woodland’s best leveraged affordable housing community. Only $46,200 of direct city subsidy was required to fund Rochdale Grange. All the other financing was from external sources.

Rochdale Grange is named to commemorate Woodland’s rural and agricultural heritage. The Woodland Rochdale Company was a cooperative owned by local farmers and residents that operated at the turn of the century in Woodland. The Woodland Rochdale Company store was located at 513 Main Street (now home to Wirth Furniture). The store telephone number was # 4 in Woodland – possibly the earliest non-government phone number in Woodland.

The National Grange is the oldest fraternal organization in the US serving farmers and rural communities. At one time there were eight Granges in Yolo County, the first starting in 1873. Today, the Western Yolo Grange #423 in Guinda is the only continuing Grange in the county. The Grange Hall in Guinda was built in 1909. So Rochdale Grange will be a timely physical commemoration of the more than 138 years that the Grange Hall has contributed to community in Yolo County.

Despite a difficult beginning, that included the land ending in receivership and the bank owner being seized by the FDIC as part of the banking industry meltdown over the past three years, the project managed to move forward. This was due, in no small part, to the efforts of the Woodland City Council and City staff, the State of California, the office of the Assemblywoman and a restructuring of the project, which included funds secured through the federal government’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) that were assigned to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

From the central green to the community center, Rochdale Grange has great amenities. Some of the best features include:

•    Units designed to emulate the traditional craftsman style home in Woodland and a neighborhood oriented feel with front porches onto the street;
•    A large community building and a spacious central village with community garden and raised beds;
•    Energy elements that beat Title 24 energy standards by over 15%;
•    Natural lighting in all rooms and the community building;
•    Apartments designed for natural flow through ventilation; and,
•    Walkable community with pedestrians taking precedence over cars

Following Eleanor Roosevelt Circle and Cesar Chavez Plaza in the City of Davis, Rochdale Grange is the third successful partnership between Neighborhood Partners and Yolo County Housing & its subsidiary, New Hope Community Development Corporation.

The architect for Rochdale Grange was Mogavero Notestine Associates, the civil engineer was Cunningham Engineering, the general contractor was Brown Construction, Inc. Pre-development funding came from Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund and First Northern Bank.  Permanent funding came from federal HOME funds awarded to the City of Woodland, TCAC (California Tax Credit Allocation Committee) loan funds from the federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act ARRA),  and funds from the Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank through First Northern Bank. The land was initially provided by Reynen and Bardis (and IndyMac Bank) to meet the City of Woodland’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Rochdale Grange will be managed by the John Stewart Company.

To RSVP for the event, contact Janis Holt at (530) 669-2211

October 4, 2011   1 Comment