San Rafael is earmarking $1.45 million to preserve affordable rental homes and create apartments for the homeless.

The City Council voted 4-0 to approve a resolution on Monday to authorize the expenditure. The money came from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Vice Mayor Maika Llorens Gulati was absent from the vote.

“These dollars are so important,” Mayor Kate Colin said. “They give us the ability to add our little bit to these really big projects.”

The largest award is a $1 million residual receipts loan to Bridge Housing, a nonprofit developer that is renovating the Terra Linda Manor apartment complex at Nova Albion Way and Las Gallinas Avenue. A residual receipts loan requires the borrower to repay the loan only if rents are sufficient to pay operating expenses.

Bridge Housing acquired the Terra Linda Manor and Northview complexes, now collectively known as Terra Linda Manor, in 2022. The sites have 125 apartments combined. The property is restricted through an agreement with Marin County to offer rents at or below 80% of the area median income.

The nonprofit plans to renovate the entire complex. It has secured more than $55 million for the purchase and renovation of the property, including a $6.25 million award from the county.

Anna Holm, project manager at Bridge Housing, said the project is the perfect fit for San Rafael. The average annual income of residents is just under $52,000, she said.

“Preservation is the process of ensuring long-term affordability of existing housing stock through acquisition and rehab,” Holm said. “While new construction projects are critical to curb the housing crisis here in the state, preservation projects are important ventures as well for maintaining quality affordable housing for communities, especially in Marin. Where housing costs are on the rise, displacement is a constant threat.”

Canal Alliance will receive a $200,000 grant to remodel four townhomes at the Villa Estates complex on Novato Street. The nonprofit owns 12 apartments. The homes are deed-restricted for very-low-income and low-income households. Canal Alliance has also received a $180,000 community development block grant to support the project.

In 2000, the San Rafael Redevelopment Agency provided an $85,000 grant to secure a four-apartment building at the complex. In 2001, the agency provided another $120,000 to help finance the purchase of four more apartments.

Eden Housing will get a $250,000 grant for its permanent supportive housing complex for homeless people at 3301 Kerner Blvd. The former office building is under construction and will be converted into 40 apartments.

Marin County purchased the 24,018-square-foot commercial building for $7.2 million in December 2020. The county had secured nearly $6 million through Project Homekey to make the deal. San Rafael also contributed about $1.5 million toward the purchase.

The city’s new contribution is matching a $250,000 Permanent Local Housing Allocation award and $250,000 Marin County Affordable Housing Trust Fund award. These funds are specifically funding redesign plans to raise the finished floor above the floodplain.

Construction on the $33 million project began in June. Eden Housing expects to begin leasing next summer and open for occupancy in early 2025.

Cory Hiraga, project manager for Eden Housing, addressed the City Council on Monday to offer his gratitude.

“On behalf of Eden Housing, I just want to thank you all as we work towards providing more permanent supportive housing in San Rafael,” Hiraga said.

The awards will reduce the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to $584,000, said Alexis Captanian, a city housing analyst. The fund was created to encourage developers to invest in affordable homes as a way to bolster the housing supply while meeting state quotas.

Developers pay into the fund to bypass San Rafael’s inclusionary housing requirement, which mandates that 5% of homes in large developments be sold or rented at below-market rates.