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Pre-Commitment of $920,000 in Affordable Housing Funds for Habitat for Humanity of <br />Orange County <br />July 1, 2025 <br />Page 2 <br />5 <br />1 <br />5 <br />7 <br />A Review Panel, composed of City staff from the Community Development Agency and <br />Planning and Building Agency together with an affordable housing consultant, used the <br />Scoring and Selection Criteria from the RFP to review all of the proposals. Habitat for <br />Humanity of Orange County, Jamboree Housing, THRIVE Santa Ana, Mary Erikson, <br />and Orange County Community Housing Corporation (“OCCHC”) each submitted a <br />proposal during the period that the RFP was open. Jamboree Housing and THRIVE <br />Santa Ana ended up withdrawing their proposals. The proposal from OCCHC that was <br />scored and reviewed did not meet the minimum threshold requirements and the <br />proposal from Mary Erikson was determined to be infeasible because it was cost <br />prohibitive. Following this review and scoring process, and substantial due diligence, the <br />Review Panel is recommending the following award for a project with Habitat for <br />Humanity to create nine (9) new affordable ownership opportunities: <br />Developer: Habitat for Humanity of Orange County <br />•425 E. Wellington Avenue: Up to $920,000 in Inclusionary <br />Housing Funds for eligible homebuyers to purchase nine (9) <br />existing rental units that will be converted into affordable ownership <br />condominium units including: (1) an allocation of $720,000 to the <br />City's Down Payment Assistance Program, and (2) a conditional <br />award up to $200,000 for eligible relocation costs. <br />Background on Habitat for Humanity of Orange County <br />Habitat for Humanity of Orange County (“Habitat for Humanity”) is a nonprofit <br />organization dedicated to providing affordable housing for qualifying families. Since <br />1988, the organization has completed and sold 239 homes in Orange County, including <br />32 affordable homes in the City of Santa Ana. Habitat for Humanity is currently building <br />an additional six (6) new homes in the City at 1921 W. Washington Ave for low-income <br />families at 80% of the AMI that was made possible with $2.2 million from the City’s <br />Inclusionary Housing Fund. Habitat for Humanity also currently administers the City’s <br />Residential Rehabilitation Grant Program with $500,000 per year in Community <br />Development Block Grant funds. The organization is the largest provider of affordable <br />ownership opportunities in Orange County and also advocates for fair housing policies, <br />addresses substandard housing conditions, and offers families training and resources to <br />achieve homeownership. <br />Project Description - 425 E. Wellington Avenue <br />The pre-commitment letter for 425 E. Wellington Avenue, Santa Ana, CA (APN 398- <br />028-12) between the City and Habitat for Humanity provides an enforceable funding <br />commitment of up to $920,000 in Inclusionary Housing Funds for eligible homebuyers to <br />purchase nine (9) existing rental units that will be converted into affordable ownership <br />condominium units including: (1) an allocation of $720,000 to the City's Down Payment <br />Assistance Program, and (2) a conditional award up to $200,000 for eligible relocation <br />costs (Exhibit 2). The letter is referred to as a pre-commitment because the City has <br />  <br />  <br />City Council 9 – 2 7/1/2025