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Carroll Inn SRO
Sunnyvale, California

The use of high-quality design and materials was critical to the acceptance of the Carroll Inn by local residents.

In the early 1990s, the local economy in Sunnyvale, California, a Silicon Valley community south of San Francisco, had experienced some setbacks, including military base closures and rising unemployment in the high-technology industry. However, housing costs remained high, as is typical of most communities in the San Francisco Bay area. It was very difficult for low-wage workers, as well as elderly and disabled persons, to find decent, affordable housing in the Sunnyvale area.

In 1991, the Sunnyvale City Council recognized the need for affordable housing by adopting an ordinance and related building code amendments designed to make the development of single-room occupancy (SRO) housing more feasible. The impact of the 1991 ordinance was to increase the allowable density and lower the cost of developing an SRO in Sunnyvale by designating it a commercial development. To minimize community opposition, the council also devoted significant attention to the need for high-quality development.

The city provided a site in the downtown area, convenient to services and transportation, and issued a request for proposals. The winning proposal came from MidPeninsula Housing Coalition, an experienced nonprofit housing developer.

Assembling financing for an SRO project proved more difficult than expected. Because the goal was to produce affordable rents for a very low-income population, the project's rent structure could not support conventional debt service. It took more than two years--from the fall of 1991, when the developer was chosen, until early 1994--to assemble a viable financing package for the project.

Seven sources of funds were required to build the $7 million, 120-unit project. The most significant sources were equity raised through the sale of low-income housing tax credits and a state rental housing construction loan. However, the commitment of HOME funds from both the city of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County was critical to enable the project to obtain other funding and to ensure that rents would be affordable to the target population.

Once the financing was secured, construction began in March 1994. As a result of the extraordinary cooperation and creativity of city departments and others involved in the project, it was completed in only 10 months. The Carroll Inn was completely leased by January 1995.

In addition to the 120 SRO units, the three-story wood-and-stucco structure also contains community rooms with full kitchen, TV sets, and a small library. There is a landscaped interior courtyard, children's play area, exercise room, mini-convenience store, and social service office for job searches, counseling, and support services. There are laundry facilities and a community room on each floor.

The units range in size from 165 to 355 square feet. Each has a full bath and efficiency kitchen facilities consisting of a half-size refrigerator, freezer, sink, and microwave. All units are fully furnished and have large, operable windows that look out on open space or the street. Twelve units are handicapped accessible and the remainder can be adapted if necessary.

All of the units are affordable to very low-income households. Rents range from $276 a month for the smallest units to $371 a month for the largest and include all utilities except telephone service. These rents are about half the market rent for comparable units in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County. Six of the units are supported through the county's Shelter Plus Care program.

Eighty-three percent of the Carroll Inn units are occupied by single persons, 8 percent by couples, and 9 percent by single parents with one child. Twenty-eight percent of the residents are disabled and 21 percent are elderly. More than a third of the singles have incomes at or below $8,000. Nearly half of the Carroll Inn residents receive some wages, but 37 percent rely on Social Security Income as their sole source of income. The project has had a substantial waiting list since it was initially leased.

The Carroll Inn is managed by the developer, MidPeninsula Housing Coalition. Social services are provided by a variety of local agencies, including Sunnyvale Community Services, Support Network for Battered Women, the Department of Public Health, and Hope Rehab, which provides jobs and job training for developmentally disabled persons.

Through the leadership of the city council, the perseverance and cooperation of public and private actors, and the ongoing collaboration in providing support services, the city of Sunnyvale and its nonprofit partner have produced attractive housing for a vastly underserved population. They have demonstrated that it is possible to effectively serve this population, even in one of the nation's highest-cost areas.

Contact: Dyane Matas, Housing Officer, City of Sunnyvale, 408/730-7611

Copyright 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000
Affordable Housing and HOME
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)
630 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-3736
Telephone: (202) 289-3500
Fax: (202) 289-4949