Riverbank low-income housing project goes from 39 to 67 units. And it’s prepared for NIMBYs
Riverbank leaders have boosted the number of low-income homes they hope to add via a state grant.
It was 39 when the City Council gave initial approval Jan. 28 for the project at the northwest corner of Oakdale and Morrill roads. Four weeks later, members agreed to 67 homes in the formal grant application.
What changed? The nonprofit developer found that an adjacent vacant lot was available, raising the total to five acres.
Riverbank already has put $1.5 million in other state housing money into the project. The new grant would provide up to $300,000 per unit, or $20.1 million.
The complex would serve people at risk of homelessness, including military veterans, young families and foster youth entering adulthood. They would get on-site help with job searches, parenting, education, mental health and other needs.
The rents have not been set, but they would be tailored to each household’s income. The aim is to get them into more conventional housing, freeing up the complex for others.
The project has an unusual feature: Supporters are already working to address concerns from nearby residents, including the Crossroads area just to the south. They are using meetings, flyers, the media and other methods to head off any “not-in-my-backyard” sentiment.
Co-manager Deanna Garcia said that after explaining how the complex would work, she collected about 200 signatures of support around Crossroads.
“There is support out there for this project,” she told the council Feb. 25. “I know sometimes naysayers’ voices seem louder than the positive voices, but there were a lot of people out there that were really excited ...”
Voters OK’d $6.4 billion for housing, mental health
The money would come from Project Homekey, part of the $6.4 billion bond measure approved by California voters a year ago. It pairs housing with mental health and substance abuse services.
Riverbank could learn in October if it got its grant. The home designs would then go through the standard process at the Riverbank Planning Commission and the City Council. Both would give neighbors a chance to object.
No one did so at either of the recent council meetings. But the same plan ran into protests last year when it was considered for a city-owned lot at Stanislaus Street and Jackson Avenue. The council voted in September to put a future park there instead.
The city government is partnering on the current application with Central Valley Community Resources, a nonprofit that serves Riverbank.
The complex would consist of two-bedroom houses of 650 square feet each, a size more typical of apartments. The site would have a playground, dog park, community garden and building for social services. It would be gated and have an onsite manager and rules against alcohol and illicit drugs.
Garcia said her chief goal is serving young families who now “couch-surf” in other homes. She is a building contractor, real estate broker and social activist.
The council heard that the Riverbank Unified School District has 158 students who lack proper housing. The staff helps with food, clothing and other basic needs, said Elizabeth Rodarte, assistant superintendent for student services and interventions. Federal vouchers pay for motel rooms, but only for three nights.
Another woman told of her own troubled childhood as she urged the council to pursue the project. Olivia Arambula is now a real estate broker and director of community events for the Riverbank Chamber of Commerce. She said she sometimes lived in a car when her family did not have a home.
“It does affect you,” Arambula said. “It affects your life. It affects your future. It affects the decisions you make. You feel hopeless.”
Riverbank is growing to the south
The project is just east of the Riverbank Sports Complex, which has fields for soccer and football. Just to the south lies the Crossroads West development, where the first phase broke ground in 2021. It will be mostly market-rate houses, starting at just under $500,000 at the time of the launch. The area extends to Claribel Road, where Costco and several other businesses have recently opened.
The development is similar to the original Crossroads, which includes a major shopping complex dating to 2005.
This southern growth area will help Riverbank meet a state mandate for at least 3,591 housing units by 2032. The total includes 672 for people defined as “low-income” and 970 more for those who are “very low-income.”
The Morrill Road project’s other co-manager is Brad Hawn, a former Modesto City Council member who chairs the Stanislaus Homeless Alliance.
“The place is going to be well-run,” he told the council, “and it’s going to be something that Riverbank can be proud of, that they’re really helping house people that are now unhoused.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 12:06 PM.
