Apple says it’s funding a housing project in Santa Cruz later this year — but local officials say ‘it’s news to us’

Apple, or Apple-funded affordable housing, looks to be coming to the city of Santa Cruz, with groundbreaking anticipated before the end of the year. That’s likely good news for boosting housing capacity, but beyond that the immediate details are sparse, as local officials are unfamiliar with the project.

The international tech giant has joined forces with the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund and two Silicon Valley-based nonprofits — Sobrato Philanthropies and Destination: Home — to launch the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund. The fund is part of Apple’s larger effort to address California’s affordability crunch, and is designed to make loans aimed at moving affordable housing developments forward. Apple has contributed $50 million to the Bay Area fund, and plans to allocate a total of $2.5 billion toward affordable housing initiatives across the state, according to its news release Wednesday.

The fund’s first project is slated to break ground next week in San Francisco’s Mission District, and its “anticipated second project” will be in Santa Cruz, with groundbreaking expected before the end of the year, per the release. Those projects are the first two that the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund is supporting, but in total, the initiative will fund four projects in the greater Bay Area that aim to create more than 400 homes over the next two years.

The news release did not offer any details about the Santa Cruz development’s size, rent rates, total cost or location. However, it does say that the fund seeks to help developers deliver “high-quality units faster and for significantly less than current industry averages.”

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said that, upon speaking with the city planning department and economic development, no submitted application involving Apple and a housing project “rang a bell.” Separately, Apple did allocate $5 million toward the Pacific Station South project, which broke ground in May 2022.

Further, city spokesperson Erika Smart said a new Apple-funded project is “news to us.”

Santa Cruz has been no stranger to new housing projects over the past several years, and those will keep coming as the city and county grapple with a worsening affordability crisis at the same time the city plans for thousands of new units in the coming years.

Kati Vastola, communications manager for the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, the organization managing the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund, declined to provide much detail on the project, aside from the fact that it is planned for the city of Santa Cruz rather than another part of the county. She sent a statement to Lookout from San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund CEO Rebecca Foster, which said that the project is “currently pending approval by the organization’s investment committee.”

“We look forward to sharing more when it’s officially part of the Fund’s portfolio,” said Foster.

Vastola added that the organization hopes to be able to divulge more information “in the next few months.”

“We believe everyone deserves a place to call home, and we’re proud that Apple’s $2.5 billion initiative is supporting more affordable housing options across the state,” Kristina Raspe, Apple’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, said in the release. “Increasing access to safe and affordable housing is essential for thriving communities here, and we’re excited to help launch the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund as part of our long-term commitment to our home state.”

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