I am honored to serve as Chair of the Irvine Community Land Trust (ICLT), guiding its mission of providing secure, high-quality affordable housing for the benefit of income-eligible families.  Since I joined the ICLT, we’ve built two below-market rate apartment communities, Parc Derian and Doria, for families making no more than 80 percent of the area’s median household income; some residents earn less than 30 percent of the median income, which in Orange County is $97,900 for a family of four.

Last week, we celebrated the groundbreaking for Salerno, our newest affordable housing community in Irvine. On schedule to be completed in the Fall of 2020, Salerno will offer affordable rents as low as $550 for a one-bedroom, $625 for a two-bedroom and $695 for a three-bedroom. Thirty-five of the homes will be reserved for those earning less than 30 percent of the area median income: 15 for veterans; 10 for individuals with developmental disabilities; and 10 for families at risk of homelessness. As the Orange County Register observed, these affordable communities offer “a new beginning for veterans, developmentally disabled people and families at risk of homelessness.”

One of these families is the Costa family, who have agreed to share their story. Eduardo Costa, who works 12 hours a day, six days a week, lives with his wife Eriko and their three children in Alegre Apartments, a 104-unit community in the heart of Irvine’s Cypress Village.  Eriko says that because of her new home made possible by the Irvine Community Land Trust, her family smiles more often. Eduardo says, “It’s like a dream come true.” Their smiles are the reason I volunteer my time and effort to this wonderful organization. Eduardo and Eriko’s story is one of hard work and family values, and I’m proud to be sharing it with you:

Helping dreams come true for families like the Costas is also the reason I’ll be traveling next week to Atlanta, Georgia, for a conference on strategies for using land trusts to alleviate homelessness and create more affordable housing.

Our next affordable housing community in Irvine is 68 owner-occupied townhomes on Native Spring alongside the 133 toll road.  As Chair of the Irvine Community Land Trust, I’m  very excited about this innovative and exciting project in affordable home ownership!

Learn more about the Irvine Community Land Trust at our website HERE.

You can read our ICLT Newsletter HERE.

In May 2019, the Irvine Community Land Trust was awarded the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, the world’s most respected source of information on nonprofit organizations. Read about it HERE.

To learn more about the application process and to see if you and your family qualify to be an ICLT resident, visit our interest list: http://www.irvineclt.org/interest-list.

Qualified residents of new properties are chosen by a lottery of names taken from the interest list. This system is used to ensure fairness, with no priority given regardless of further communications. After the first residents have moved in, everyone else will automatically be included on a first-come-first-served waiting list.