Affordable housing developer The Danco Group, based in Arcata, has purchased a site in Moorpark with plans to create a 200-unit affordable housing community on the property. Upon its completion, the project is expected to be worth $146 million.
The development, at 150 Casey Road, will be known as Vendra Gardens. The site spans 18 acres, and six of those acres will be returned to the city of Moorpark.
Vendra Gardens will have 80 one-bedroom/one-bathroom units, 68 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units and 52 three-bedroom/two-bathroom units.
It will also have a leasing building and an amenity building. About 65% of the units will be set aside for those making 30% to 60% of the area’s median income. The other 35% will be for tenants making 20% to 50% of the area’s median income. There will also be two managers’ units.
The project will have a total of nine structures.
Lee & Associates’ Matt Benwitt and J.C. Martin represented Danco in the purchase of the property. San Mateo-based Essex Property Trust Inc. was the seller. The sales price was not disclosed.
“The land seller is Essex, a multifamily REIT. They got the project approved and the economics didn’t really work for them,” Benwitt said. “The property was not on the market. I had contacted Essex and learned that they would sell. They had the project fully approved and had construction permits.”
The project, under Essex, was going to be largely market-rate units with 50 affordable units.
“Market rate rents did not justify building,” Benwitt said. “It was not viable for them.”
Danco decided to purchase the site and turn it into affordable units. Benwitt said the land already having approvals in place for a multifamily community was a huge plus.
Danco, he said, made some changes, and would likely take about 18 months to build the project.
Benwitt said the Moorpark area is in huge need of affordable housing, adding that he doesn’t know of any affordable housing projects in the works in Moorpark now.
“Housing is really expensive,” he said. “In this location, there’s close proximity to Thousand Oaks and everything is really expensive.”
He called the development “very welcomed. All these cities, they have to meet requirements, they have a regional housing needs assessment, and this will help the city meet those requirements.”
Funding for Vendra Gardens was provided through tax credits by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.
The Danco Group, which was founded in 1986, specializes in affordable-housing communities. The company does construction, development and property management. Some of its communities are geared toward seniors.
The Danco Group has completed more than 20 projects and has nearly that many in various stages of development and construction now, according to its website.