San Clemente is a stunning city located on the southern coast of California’s Orange County. The beautiful coastal location and mild climate ensure that housing and land costs are out of the reach of most working families. Jamboree recognized the need for this type of housing that meets the needs of many working people – including nurses, firefighters and teachers. Jamboree worked closely with local government, investors, master builders and community organizations for years to create an affordable housing component to the upscale master-planned Talega community.
The result is the award-winning Mendocino at Talega, an affordable apartment housing community for families. A three-story garden-style walk-up design, the community features open shared courtyards and lush landscaping. First, the fact that a low-income housing project even exists in an upscale master-planned community such as Talega – in one of the nation’s most notoriously expensive housing markets with some of the tightest vacancy rates – is testimony to the success of inclusionary housing, and the result of relationships between for-profit and nonprofit housing developers, local government and lending agencies. Secondly, the size and location of the project has drawn national attention.
Financing for Mendocino was obtained as the result of a six-year inclusionary housing ordinance adoption process with the City of San Clemente spearheaded by Jamboree and, at the time of its completion in 2003, represented its most complex financing package undertaken – a total of seven layers.
Jamboree also worked to make sure a student bus service serviced the community, eliminating the need for busy, working parents to drive their children to school.
