Mill Valley approves first affordable housing development in decades

Mill Valley approved a 100% affordable housing development this week, marking the first time this has happened in the Marin County town in 30 years, as first reported by the Marin Independent Journal. 

The four-story building is planned to include 44 housing units, with one-, two- and three-bedroom units available. Rents are expected to range from $978 to $2,908 per month, the Marin Independent Journal reported, and the units are to be reserved for low-income residents “making around $40,000 to $130,000 or less a year.”

The project, dubbed Bayfront Terraces and located at 1 Hamilton Drive, is expected to be managed by San Rafael-based nonprofit developer EAH Housing.

Mill Valley Mayor Urban Carmel said during the city council meeting Monday that while the city was successful in building affordable housing in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, development lagged afterward as land became scarce and financing these types of projects became much more difficult.

Carmel told SFGATE the city has been focused on finding a project like this since 2016 and found this particular site in 2021. “We’re super excited about this. This is huge,” he said. “It took forever.”

He said another 100% affordable housing development in Mill Valley is in the early stages and he hopes to be able to share more at the end of the year. “It takes more than one of these to make a difference,” Carmel said.

Construction likely won’t begin until 2026 or 2027, with an estimated completion date in 2028.