LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA — A major affordable housing project planned for downtown Lafayette is seeking a critical new source of financing worth as much as approximately $25 million.
The 949 Moraga Road development now appears on California’s list of applications for the second round of competitive 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits in 2026.
If the application is approved at its full requested level, the federal tax credits could provide nearly $2.5 million annually for 10 years.
The credits would not arrive as a $25 million government check. Instead, the project’s nonprofit developers could sell the credits to an investor, converting them into equity that would help pay for construction.
An earlier Contra Costa County financing plan projected that the credits would generate approximately $23.52 million in investor equity.
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A Major Piece of a $54 Million Project
The four-story development would replace the city-owned public parking lot at 949 Moraga Road, between Moraga Boulevard and Brook Street.
Plans call for 47 affordable apartments and one unit for an on-site manager. The building is intended to provide housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including adults with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other conditions.
The apartments would be accompanied by resident lounges, outdoor courtyards, a teaching kitchen, fitness space, laundry facilities and bicycle storage.
The location is especially notable. Residents would be within walking distance of the Lafayette BART station, the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies and other downtown destinations.
According to county documents, the total project cost was estimated at approximately $54.46 million. That works out to roughly $1.13 million per apartment, although the figure includes far more than the physical construction of the units.
The budget includes the value of the donated land, financing expenses, professional and other soft costs, reserves, contingencies, community facilities and services associated with the supportive housing development. The project’s estimated structural construction cost was approximately $26.1 million.
Several Public Funding Sources Are Involved
The tax credits would join several other major funding commitments.
The project previously secured approximately $19.5 million through California’s Multifamily Finance Super NOFA program. That funding includes a state housing loan, a capitalized operating subsidy reserve grant and funding for supportive services.
Contra Costa County supervisors also approved approximately $5.38 million in Measure X housing funding for the project in May. That money comes from the countywide half-cent Measure X sales tax approved by voters in 2020.
Lafayette is contributing the downtown property, which county financing documents valued at approximately $5.11 million, along with additional local support.
A House appropriations report released in June also included $1 million in proposed federal funding for the project at the request of Rep. Mark DeSaulnier. That money is not yet final and would still need to survive the broader federal budget process.
The Financing Is Not Yet Guaranteed
The new tax-credit application is an important milestone, but it is not an award.
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee administers the competitive program, which is intended to encourage private investment in affordable rental housing. The credits are highly sought after because they can provide developers with substantial equity without creating a conventional loan that must be repaid from rental income.
The 949 Moraga Road proposal appears in the state’s second-round application pool under application number CA-26-094. The application deadline was July 21, and the committee’s schedule calls for second-round 9% tax-credit awards to be considered on October 6.
An award would fill one of the largest remaining pieces in the project’s complex financing package and could move the development considerably closer to construction.
For now, however, the project remains dependent on winning the credits and completing the other financing commitments required by the county.
If successful, the development would bring an unusual type of affordable, supportive housing to one of Lafayette’s most centrally located properties — and mark Sunflower Hill’s first residential community in Contra Costa County.
