LEED Platinum East Bay Affordable Housing Designed for Activation, Safety, and Comfort
Verana Hill, formerly known as Albany Family Housing, is a 62-unit affordable housing East Bay community built on a City of Albany-owned site at 755 Cleveland Avenue, formerly owned by Caltrans. The building is cut into the sloped site to effectively minimize the building massing and hide the parking podium below grade. The podium will be lined by three residences, the main entry lobby, management office and bike room on Cleveland Avenue. Care has been taken to locate access to the parking, trash, and utilities to prevent conflict. The building activates Washington Avenue with apartments at the courtyard level, corner residence, stepping planters, and secure resident entry to the podium courtyard from Washington Avenue.
The 62 units of affordable family housing will be an important community asset that will harmonize with the East Shore/Solano Hill neighborhood, will help activate and make Pierce Street park a safer place, will allow the future bike path to be implemented by the City, and will meet the City’s sustainability goals and principles. This will be a housing community which is part of the neighborhood and wider community, a beneficial addition to the City of Albany, and a concrete example of Albany’s commitment to housing for all income levels.