Affordable housing advocates are celebrating a major milestone in Castro Valley with the opening of Crescent Grove, a 72-unit affordable housing community developed by Eden Housing. This project is a significant step toward addressing the growing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness, veterans, and people with disabilities in a region where affordable units are in critically short supply.

Crescent Grove offers a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, affordable to households earning between 20% and 60% of the area median income. Notably, 18 units are reserved for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, 15 units for veterans through the VASH voucher program, and 10 units for people with disabilities under the Mainstream voucher project.

Eden Housing designed Crescent Grove not only to provide stable housing, but to create a community. The development features a community room, courtyard with play structures and gardens, meeting spaces for services, and an array of green building features — including rooftop solar panels, centralized heat pump water heating, and on-site EV charging. Additional amenities, like an electric car share and free bike share program, further integrate sustainability into residents’ daily lives.

A highlight of this project is Eden’s collaborative approach to land stewardship. The development was made possible through a partnership with the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (HACA) and the use of California’s Surplus Lands Act, which prioritizes surplus public land for affordable housing. In addition, Eden donated an adjacent parcel to the Hayward Area Recreation District for a public pocket park and another three-acre parcel to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an urban Indigenous women-led land trust that will restore the creek land in perpetuity.

Projects like Crescent Grove exemplify the importance of land stewardship in affordable housing development — aligning with our values as a community land trust. This is not just about building housing units; it’s about creating community assets that remain affordable and benefit the public long-term.

Article:
Castro Valley Affordable Housing Opens
https://patch.com/california/castrovalley/newly-built-affordable-housing-opens-castro-valley