To: Contra Costa County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners
From: Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director
Report Title: Presentation concerning the Repositioning of all the Housing Authority’s (HACCC) Public Housing Units
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ACCEPT presentation concerning the transition of all HACCC’s public housing units to other financial structures that will provide long-term, subsidized, affordable rents to families while dramatically improving the long-term economic viability of the properties for HACCC.
BACKGROUND:
Across the country, public housing has faced decades of federal budget cuts, leaving local housing authorities without adequate capital for repairs, major renovations, or basic maintenance. For example, HUD’s 2026 budget to address capital needs is $3.2 billion, however, the capital needs for public housing were estimated at $169.1 billion in 2025. Similarly, HACCC has $9.3 million in immediate capital needs, and our 3- to 5-year needs are $36.5 million, while only receiving $3.8 million for capital needs in 2026 with $2.1 million of that set aside for repairs.
Given this reality, HACCC’s public housing program is only marginally viable currently and thus HACCC is actively moving to transition all units from its public housing program into other forms of long-term assisted, affordable housing. This process is known as repositioning and started with Las Deltas in North Richmond in 2013 with HUD approval given in 2019 to transition that property out of the public housing program. To begin the current phase of this process, HACCC commissioned a team of affordable housing finance and land use experts to assess the existing condition of the portfolio, analyze operating budgets, estimate rents and capital needs to model a variety of financial and land use feasibility scenarios. Based on this data, HACCC’s consultants developed a Public Housing Repositioning Plan that established a portfolio-wide strategy to preserve and modernize HACCC’s remaining public housing units, maintain long-term affordability for residents, and selectively expand the supply of affordable housing. The strategy centers on repositioning properties out of the public housing program and into long-term, project-based voucher contracts with blends of Section 18 and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) units, enabling access to private debt and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing to fund rehabilitation and redevelopment of HACCC’s properties.
HACCC’s consultants (Zen Development Consultants, LLC, Structure development Advisors, LLC and FORWARD City Labs) will update the Board on the proposed repositioning plan.
Staff will return to the Board at the September meeting to:
• Adopt the Repositioning Plan and confirm property strategies, groupings, and phasing.
• Authorize initiation of Phase 1 transactions.
Assuming the Board takes those actions at the September meeting, among many other steps, staff will then begin the following:
• Procure experienced development partner(s) through a qualifications-based RFQ process.
• Conduct updated due diligence, as needed, including Physical Needs Assessments and appraisals.
• Initiate HUD conversion processes and prepare applications.
• Continue resolving key feasibility and entitlement issues affecting Phase 2 and Phase 3 projects.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Based on 2025 funding levels, HUD’s pending cuts were projected to cost the Housing Authority (HACCC) over $14,600,000 in funding dedicated to homeless households in 2026. This funding supports permanent housing for over 550 households.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
None. Informational Item Only.