SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Developers and an Elk Grove church are teaming up on an affordable independent living development for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with plans to break ground next year.

Nonprofit developer AbleLight and San Francisco-based affordable housing developer-manager John Stewart Co., are plotting out the proposed 84-unit Cornerstone Village. The 4-acre project would be built at 9270 Bruceville Road on the grounds of Light of the Valley Lutheran Church, pending city approvals. Developers are aiming to open in 2025.

Developers submitted applications for the project in mid-January and anticipate meeting with city planners and Elk Grove City Council in May, project representatives said at a virtual forum recently.

This is Minnesota-based AbleLight’s first California project. Four other Cornerstone Village projects are in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A quarter of the Elk Grove apartments will be set aside for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The faith-based nonprofit’s residential communities are “designed to unite people with developmental disabilities with other members of the community in a loving, Christian environment.”

The apartments will be “focused on independence,” representatives said at the forum, utilizing smart technology, building design and elevators to aid residents with mobility and vision issues. Project managers also plan to partner with resident services provider LifeSTEPS to offer case management, after-school programs and fitness classes on site.

Local sponsor Light of the Valley will sell the land for the development — a mix of one-bedroom units and two- and three-bedroom apartments, according to developers’ information. John Stewart Co. has 375 affordable housing developments across California including 26 properties in the greater Sacramento region.

Project developers estimate about 2,100 adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities live in Elk Grove, with many in the city’s lowest-income bracket and largely priced out of Elk Grove’s rental market.

The apartment mix also includes 53 units for working families and nine units for residents who were formerly unhoused. A property manager will also live on site.

A case manager will also work with previously homeless tenants to link them with health, school and job resources while neighbor Light of the Valley will provide mentorship and other services.

Once built, the new construction will be part of a “single community” with Light of the Valley, with a public courtyard connecting the two, say developers.

“This is what churches do,” Jay Reed, pastor of Light of the Valley, said at the virtual forum. “We asked, ‘What if we had a community that was already there? How do we do this so that we include (people)?’ Let’s do community well.”

The city of Elk Grove has 18 affordable apartment communities with about 2,300 units, according to city officials. At least two of the communities have pacts with the city to accept tenants who were once unhoused, officials said.

© 2022 The Sacramento Bee
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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