Fetters applications could go out in March

Sonoma Valley residents eager to apply for a shiny new rental residence in Fetters Apartments, in the Springs, have been given some good, though tentative news. According to Scott Johnson, director of Housing Development for Midpen Housing – the master developer of the massive project – it could be a matter of months, as early as March of 2016, that applications finally become available for the eagerly anticipated low-income housing development currently under construction along Highway 12.

Currently, the target date for completion of construction – and the triumphant arrival of the development's first tenants – is October of 2016. If that timeframe holds, Johnson allows, then application packets will go out, to all interested parties, sometime in March.

'The only uncertainty, of course, is the weather,' says Johnson. 'Weather will be a big part of whether or not this happens on schedule. As we get closer to rainy season, much of our construction management will be based on being positioned to manage what could be very heavy rain.'

Rain, and the hundred other unanticipated incidents, natural and mechanical, that frequently delay a construction project of this magnitude.

'Still, it is very exciting,' acknowledges Johnson. 'Construction is now fully under way, as everyone can see when they drive through town. There is a significant scope of backbone infrastructure going into the ground, and we look forward to the sticks going up in the air in the next few coming months.'

The 'sticks' Johnson refers to are the skeletal wooden frames of the 60-unit complex that, once finished, will provide affordable family housing in the form of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments spread over several separate buildings. That's just Phase One of the project, which will also include a playground to be shared with the Sonoma Charter School, plus a section of the Central Sonoma Valley Trail, significant improvements to the Hwy. 12 frontage area, and a retail-commercial complex to be known as Vailetti Square.

Phase two of the project – construction of which will launch after completion of phase one – will include Celestina Garden Apartments, a 40-unit, dedicated senior housing complex. That project is still in the process of arranging funding, which Johnson hopes will be include a $1.5 million grant through the county's Community Development Commission. If approved, the money will prove critical in attracting local matching grants for balance of the financing.

There is no question that, once the sticks go in the air for the senior apartments, they will be in high demand, but with that project still years away from start of construction, the big question people are asking right now is how to get in line for one of the family apartments in Phase One.

'The basic instructions we are giving the people who are calling up and asking about applications,' says Johnson, 'are to get signed up on our 'Interest List.' Basically, it's a list where we take down their names, their basic phone numbers and contact information, and when we do reach the application release stage, all the folks on the list will automatically receive application materials through the mail.'

The 'Interest List,' as Johnson describes it, is not an application list or a waiting list. The names being collected have no priority over names collected later, or over those who apply after the application process officially commences. The list is simply a database of people who can expect to receive an application package once those packages they are finally ready to be released to the public.

'The interest list is an important step at this point,' Johnson says, 'but all it does is assure that you will receive an application in the mail once they become available.'

As to who will be eligible for one of the apartments, Johnson points out, 'Our outreach activities will be very focused and targeted within Sonoma Valley, in an effort to assure there's a strong local response when the application period formally opens in spring of next year.'

Applicants will need to meet certain minimum qualification criteria. They must not exceed a certain maximum income. There will be a criminal check and a review of credit and landlord history.

Johnson anticipates that the level of interest in the project will only increase as construction proceeds.

'Once the building frames go up, people will start recognizing the reality of what we are building,' he says, 'I suspect our phones will be ringing off the hook.'

To be put on MidPen's interest list, interested persons can call 650-356-2910.

Email David at david.templeton@sonomanews.com.