Agency Details:

Marin Workforce Housing Trust

The Marin Workforce Housing Trust is a unique public/private partnership that has been created to meet the challenges of housing affordability for workers in Marin County. Through our revolving loan fund, we provide low-interest rate loans to nonprofit and for-profit developers who are constructing homes affordable to lower income families, as well as special needs populations.

We target our loans to fill critical gaps in existing affordable housing finance – as “first-in” money to purchase land, secure sites and fund pre-development work and as “last-in” money to close the funding gap for developments that otherwise would not be able to be built. Once construction is complete, the loans are repaid and reinvested in other workforce housing developments. Thus the Marin Workforce Housing Trust provides a self-replenishing vehicle for affordable housing investment.

Every dollar that is contributed to the Housing Trust is matched by both the Marin Community Foundation and the County of Marin, thereby tripling the value of each donation.

History:
As housing prices climbed in Marin County, workers had a harder and harder time finding housing close to their jobs. Understanding the long-term consequences of a severe shortage of workforce housing in the county, a group of local employers affiliated with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce began to advocate for the creation of affordable workforce housing.

The employers were convinced that Marin needed additional workforce housing in order to:

Attract and retain quality employees
Develop a sustainable economic environment
Reduce traffic and congestion on our roadways
Improve the quality of life of our employees and residents
Over several years, the idea of a housing trust that operated as a partnership between the county’s businesses, local governments and philanthropic organizations was developed. A number of major employers, the Marin Community Foundation and the County of Marin agreed to form a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization to raise money to help finance the creation of affordable housing. The Foundation and the County agreed to match dollar for dollar the money raised through business and private donations. An initial goal of $6 million was set and we have raised over $3 million to date.

Contact person: Linda Wagner, Executive Director, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (415) 448-0370

Address:

555 Northgate Drive, Suite 245 San Rafael, CA 94903 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.mwht.org

Last updated on November 3, 2009