Sacramento News & Review
Support Local Independent Journalism Sign up for our newsletter!
  • News
    • Crime Beat
    • COVID-19
    • police reform
  • Voices
    • Greenlight
    • Fifteen Minutes
    • Essay
    • Ask Joey
    • Ask 420
  • Arts+Culture
    • Dish
    • Music
    • Home & Garden
    • Rebooting the Arts
  • Calendar
  • Solving Sacramento
    • Rebooting the Arts
    • Housing
    • ABOUT SOLVING SACRAMENTO
  • Newsletter
  • Become a supporter
  • More…
    • Local Dining
    • SN&R Archive
    • Best of Sac
    • SAMMIES
    • Sponsored Content
    • Independent Journalism Fund
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Contact Us
Hot Topics
  • March 9, 2021 | In light of recent deaths, Sacramento City Hall faces reckoning on warming centers
  • March 21, 2023 | The Foilies 2023: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
  • March 20, 2023 | California considers giving the incarcerated a right to vote
  • March 16, 2023 | Irreversible: How chaos at Auburn’s ‘neighborhood bar’ led to a hard-fought murder trial
  • March 15, 2023 | From its gleaming whiskey vault to the area’s biggest Celtic party, Father Paddy’s Pub in Woodland is a growing destination 
  • March 15, 2023 | Stout Rebellion keeps bringing the Irish musical bravado, and fun, to the Capital region
Spotlight Community

An experienced affordable housing organization is bringing its unique approach to Sacramento

A rendition of the planned BRIDGE housing development in Sacramento. Courtesy of BRIDGE Housing

By: Anne Stokes February 21, 2022

BRIDGE Housing Corporation was born of an act of generosity. In 1983, an anonymous donation to the San Francisco Foundation enabled the philanthropic organization to create BRIDGE in an effort to address the city’s ever-present housing shortage. Since then, the nonprofit has helped build new foundations for families and communities from San Diego to Seattle, with 18,000 homes in more than 100 properties – almost all of them permanently affordable. BRIDGE is also the long-term manager of over 12,000 affordable units.

“Our mission is to strengthen communities and improve the lives of our residents, beginning—but not ending—with affordable housing,” says Ken Lombard, President & CEO of BRIDGE Housing. “We serve communities by building and operating high-quality affordable homes for families and seniors, often with amenities that benefit the broader neighborhood, like childcare, retail and green space.”

An innovative approach

In the 1980s, government-run affordable housing projects had a problematic reputation. BRIDGE offered a different approach: A nonprofit corporation that balances both its bottom line and the flexibility to meet residents’ and communities’ needs by not only developing and building properties, but maintaining and professionally managing them as well.

“It’s run essentially as a mission-driven business enterprise” says Jonathan Stern, director of planning and acquisitions. “We aggregate subsidies for our projects, for their construction, and then operate and manage them with the goal of long-term sustainability, both financial and physical.”

Quality, quantity and affordability

BRIDGE serves communities by building quality homes, a lot of them, and ensuring they stay affordable. It’s estimated that Sacramento will need 36,014 more affordable housing units over the next several years to meet housing needs across the county. While many developers build a handful of affordable units, BRIDGE builds 100 units or more at a time. At the heart of their mission, however, is affordability: By using public subsidies, BRIDGE commits to keeping units affordable—between 30-80% of the area’s median income level—for 55 years or more.

“We’re not just trying to provide some small amount of bespoke housing, we’re trying to provide a lot of it. That’s important for us,” Stern says, adding, “We understand the quality experience is not just the building, but that people can actually afford it.”

More than a roof and four walls

While a safe and healthy home is the foundation to a good life, BRIDGE also offers residents tools and opportunities to improve their lives in other ways.

“In terms of lasting change, we’ve always believed that an apartment with an affordable rent is a stepping stone for advancement, so we offer a range of programs and services to help residents thrive,” Lombard says. “Eighty-three percent of our properties offer services such as food distribution, homework support for kids, employment support for adults, and senior services that focus on health and aging in place. We’ve also awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships to help residents achieve their educational and career goals.”

Community building

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to housing. So to meet the needs of the tenants and neighborhoods it serves, BRIDGE collaborates with local governments and communities to customize their buildings and services.

“We are used to dealing with complex physical and administrative [requirements],” Stern says. “Affordable housing is complex enough that there will be time to be thoughtful. … We know we’re going to be there long term and we’re committed to starting off on the right foot. And we know that our customers are certainly the people who live in our housing, but it’s also the neighbors and the government that funds us. We want to build in cities and in places that align with our values.”

TOPICS:affordable housingBRIDGE Housinghousing shortagesacramento

Our content is free, but not free to produce

If you value our local news, arts and entertainment coverage, become an SN&R supporter with a one-time or recurring donation. Help us keep our reporters at work, bringing you the stories that need to be told.

Become a supporter
Newsletter

Stay Updated

For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
We'll tell you the story behind the story.

    • Previous post
    • Next post

    About the Sponsor

    BRIDGE Housing
    BRIDGE Housing strengthens communities and improves the lives of its residents, beginning—but not ending—with affordable housing. Since 1983, BRIDGE has been a mission-driven nonprofit that pays close attention to the double bottom line of financial and social return on investment, always in pursuit of quality, quantity, affordability and in keeping with our core values.

    Related Articles

    COVID-19, Dish, Voices

    15 Minutes: Dusted in flour


    COVID-19, News

    The desperate hour


    Home & Garden

    When it rains, it pours


    2020 election, COVID-19, News

    Pandemic politics


    Meet the sponsors

    • Berkeley Strategy Advisors
      Berkeley Strategy Advisors

      published 5 articles

    • BRIDGE Housing
      BRIDGE Housing

      published 3 articles

    • California Workforce Association
      California Workforce Association

      published 13 articles

    • City of Roseville
      City of Roseville

      published 4 articles

    • Del Paso Boulevard Partnership
      Del Paso Boulevard Partnership

      published 28 articles

    • Exotic Plants
      Exotic Plants

      published 6 articles

    • Joshua's House Hospice
      Joshua's House Hospice

      published 1 article

    • Midtown
      Midtown

      published 11 articles

    • N&R Publications
      N&R Publications

      published 5 articles

    • Northern California Research
      Northern California Research

      published 10 articles

    • Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services
      Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services

      published 5 articles

    • Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services
      Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services

      published 1 article

    • Sacramento Regional Transit District
      Sacramento Regional Transit District

      published 28 articles

    • SEIU
      SEIU

      published 30 articles

    • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
      Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

      published 1 article

    • The California Endowment
      The California Endowment

      published 65 articles

    • Volunteers of America
      Volunteers of America

      published 8 articles

    • Workforce Development Board of Solano County
      Workforce Development Board of Solano County

      published 4 articles

    Our Sponsors

    Berkeley Strategy Advisors BRIDGE Housing California Workforce Association City of Roseville Del Paso Boulevard Partnership Exotic Plants Joshua's House Hospice Midtown N&R Publications Northern California Research Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services Sacramento Regional Transit District SEIU Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The California Endowment Volunteers of America Workforce Development Board of Solano County

    Categories

    Community

    Tags

    2020 affordable housing art astrology Black Lives Matter board of supervisors budget California cannabis City Council city hall climate change coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 in Sacramento Donald Trump election food gardening gavin newsom George Floyd homeless homelessness horoscopes jobs Joe Biden letters Mayor Darrell Steinberg music november election pandemic police reform president donald trump presidential election protests public health sacramento sacramento county Sacramento police Sacramento Regional Transit District SacRT SEIU Stephon Clark strong mayor taxes
    Newsletter

    Stay Updated

    For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
    We'll tell you the story behind the story.

      Recent Posts
      • The Foilies 2023: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
      • California considers giving the incarcerated a right to vote
      • Irreversible: How chaos at Auburn’s ‘neighborhood bar’ led to a hard-fought murder trial
      • From its gleaming whiskey vault to the area’s biggest Celtic party, Father Paddy’s Pub in Woodland is a growing destination 
      • Stout Rebellion keeps bringing the Irish musical bravado, and fun, to the Capital region
      Links
      • Newsletter Signup
      • Follow us on Twitter
      • Find us on Facebook
      • SN&R Archives
      • Best of Sac
      • SAMMIES
      • RSS
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Service
      • Contact Us
      Become a supporter
      Categories
      • 2020 election (86)
      • Arts & Culture (43)
      • Arts+Culture (414)
      • Ask Joey (1,017)
      • Behind the Issues (1)
      • Cannabis (39)
      • COVID-19 (312)
      • Crime Beat (101)
      • Dish (74)
      • Food (12)
      • Greenlight (492)
      • Home & Garden (77)
      • Housing (47)
      • Music (66)
      • News (1,157)
      • Rebooting the Arts (33)
      • Solving Sacramento (47)
      • Stage (8)
      • The arts (4)
      • Voices (476)

      © 2019+ Sacramento News & Review