Fremont opens new affordable housing development for families

FREMONT Ismael Rivera calls his new -square-feet one bedroom apartment heaven Related Articles Group seeks to halt Menlo Park parking lot redevelopment with ballot measure The Bay Area has hundreds of below-market rate apartments sitting vacant is typical Californian s credit points How does that rank Gov Newsom picks housing over CEQA in bills aimed at speeding construction Is secret to California s housing affordability buried in its building code The past six years have been tough for the -year-old He was forced to live in his van in after his rent was suddenly raised to well above what he was able to affording while living on disability payments from the authorities He was also dealing with diabetes arthritis high blood pressure and injuries to his neck back and hands he declared It just got to where I couldn t work anymore Rivera noted I didn t expect him to hike it up that much After living on the streets and in shelters he s enjoying the peace and quiet of his new Fremont home Ismael Rivera a former homeless resident looks at the view from his balcony at Fremont Family Apartments in Fremont Calif on Tuesday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group On Thursday Fremont Family Apartments operated by Fremont s homeless housing provider Abode Services celebrated its grand opening with affordable units at Fremont Blvd The affordable housing complex is part of various affordable homes Fremont plans to open this year Four other developments Bell Street Gardens Osgood North Osgood South and Serra Apartments have finished leasing and are expected to open this spring or summer Bell Street Gardens will have units Osgood North units Osgood South units and Serra Apartments units At Thursday s grand opening ceremony Abode CEO Vivian Wan challenged local political leaders in attendance to continue prioritizing information toward affordable housing projects The Fremont Family Apartments are part of a legacy of the late former pastor Diane Barnett of Group of Christ Church who partnered in with Abode the city and Alameda County to turn the church s formerly vacant lot into the new advancement This is a drop in the bucket and we need more Wan explained We need to double down triple down we need more housing The push for cheaper units comes as the city is locked in a legal battle over its not long ago proposed camping ban Homeless advocates are suing the city over the ban which is one of the strictest in the state arguing over a clause that was in recent days removed from the ban that could have punished someone for aiding and abetting a homeless encampment For now the city has paused enforcement of the ban Last fall the Fremont City Council passed a RV camping band which requires large trucks and other oversized vehicles such as RVs move at least feet within hours The ban also limits parking on city streets in residential and commercial areas to just -hours Rivera knows the struggle of living out of a van He did so with his brother and his brother s family until they could find shelter housing sometimes feigning drug and alcohol abuse to find placement in a substance abuse recovery shelter he reported You basically had to lie about it or you re not getting in Rivera mentioned We advised them we had been using drugs and alcohol for a long time and required to get clean so they got us in there He bounced between recovery shelters never finding a permanent place to live until last year when he revealed placement at Fremont s Housing Navigation Center which opened in and has beds From there he discovered Abode Services He attended counseling sessions stayed at the center for eight months and then moved into affordable housing at the Fremont Family Apartments on Oct Ismael Rivera s kitchen at Fremont Family Apartments in Fremont Calif on Tuesday May Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group The new apartments have also offered resident Siebie Steel a new chance at life Steel had been living for the past several years on the street of Oakland after surviving a shooting that left his legs paralyzed I m not going to take it for granted reported Steel who moved into the complex last October This is the best time of my life in five years Since moving in Rivera says he has held on tightly to his key almost in disbelief since the day he moved in His new apartment for which he pays a month is fully furnished with a couch bed table and chairs and brand new appliances Rivera s balcony overlooks nearby businesses with a view of the grassy hills beyond Fremont s Niles district When you re homeless and you end up like this it s heaven to me Rivera disclosed I m really happy It s so quiet and it s very clean It s been a blessing for sure