This webpage is intended to share information and updates for the North Richmond community and other stakeholders about the redevelopment of the Las Deltas Public Housing sites. The Housing Authority of Contra Costa County (HACCC) is transitioning the currently vacant land through three phases of selling or leasing the land to non-profit developers who will transform it into new affordable housing opportunities. The goals of these processes are to:
Stabilize and improve the neighborhood
Enable new wealth building opportunities and self-sufficiency for North Richmond families
Enable a right to return for those who lived at Las Deltas at the time of its closure
Please contact Hannah Phalen at hphalen@coronorcal.org with any questions.
To stay up-to-date on the development of the former Las Deltas properties,
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Local Preference Policy:
HACCC and the Policy Grant Team are working with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to obtain permission to utilize a Local Preference Policy in both the selection of the non-profit development partners and for the targeted buyers. Any housing units built on any of the sites must give priority to former public housing residents of Las Deltas, then to current and former North Richmond residents and, lastly, the general public.
Upcoming Events:
January 3rd, 2022 5:00PM: Las Deltas presentation and Q&A session at the North Richmond Municipal Advisory Committee (NR MAC)
*Note: This map is a placeholder to show where the units are. A map with more detailed information is coming soon.
Disposition Process
Phase 1: Below Market Rate ($1) Sale of 16 buildings (28 units)
HACCC is developing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) inviting non-profit housing developers based in, or doing significant work in North Richmond, to submit proposals for the development of a portion of the Las Deltas scattered sites in early 2023. The RFQ will incorporate ideas put forth in the Quality of Life Plan, RLAND and CHDC’s planning processes, and the Resilient by Design competition, among others.
The scattered sites will be encumbered by a restrictive covenant for a period of 20 years from closing which requires that the units may only be rented or sold to families at or below 80% of area median income.
The developer selection panel will include HACCC, Supervisor Gioia’s Office, County DCD, former Las Deltas residents, the North Richmond MAC and other community members.
Out of the 42 buildings of scattered site housing, 12 duplexes and 4 single family units will be available for this RFQ and will be “sold” for $1 each in order to significantly lower the development costs for the non-profits.
The RFQ will be designed in a flexible manner that will allow non-traditional “ownership” options such as community land-trusts or co-ops to compete on an even footing with traditional ownership models. HACCC is interested in both wealth creation for individuals and long-term control by neighborhood groups of individuals from the neighborhood.
After the developers have been selected, HACCC and the Fellow will work with them to design a selection process for the first time homebuyers who will be prioritized in the sale of these refurbished units. We will prioritize former Las Deltas residents and current North Richmond residents first, and lastly, the general public. We will ensure that buyers clearly understand the type of housing options being offered.
Phase 2: Market Rate Sale of 26 buildings (52 units)
The remainder of the scattered site units will be sold at market value to allow HACCC to recover some of the costs that have been put forth at Las Deltas and redirect money to improving the remainder of the County’s public housing stock.
The details of this market rate sales process will be determined early/mid 2023 and posted here.
Phase 3: Request for Proposals to Develop Main Campus (approximately 11.38 acres)
The main campus will have its own Request for Proposals (RFP) process after all scattered sites have been sold. It is likely that the selection process for a developer of the main campus will kick off late 2023. The RFP will incorporate ideas put forth in the Quality of Life Plan and the Resilient by Design competition, among others.
Organizations Involved
The Housing Authority of Contra Costa County (HACCC) was chosen as one of 11 jurisdictions throughout the Bay Area to work on a Policy Grant Team on advancing equitable housing policies. Launched in June 2022 and spanning two years, the program will help accelerate policies that preserve and produce affordable housing. Each entity is partnered with community organizations, which ensure community voices are represented in the policy process. A housing policy fellow is also embedded in each jurisdiction to serve as a catalyst to advance policy innovation. The following organizations are involved in the North Richmond Policy Grant Team, with the support of County Supervisor John Gioia.
Housing Authority of Contra Costa County (HACCC)
HACCC is the current owner of the Las Deltas main campus and scattered sites. While the HACCC’s relationship to the neighborhood is changing, the agency still has a deep personal and financial commitment to the residents and local stakeholders. The HACCC land being proposed for sale (at $1/transaction) is valued at approximately $7.5 million and the value of the project-based voucher rental assistance will be over $107 million. HACCC embraces it’s mandate to lead these efforts and to respond to stated community priorities with the support of the Policy Grant. HACCC, County Supervisor John Gioia, and Contra Costa County are committed to pioneering alternative models for disposition in collaboration with residents and community partners to support equitable development.
Fellow – Hannah Phalen
Hannah Phalen is the Fellow acting as a liaison between HACCC and the North Richmond community. She works closely with HACCC, ROPC, CHDC, and RichmondLAND to ensure the HACCC’s disposition of the property happens in the most equitable and fair way possible. She is the primary contact for the former Las Deltas clients who will receive preference for anything built on this land, is working with HACCC and the County to streamline the development process, is managing the process of passing the Local Preference Policy, and will collaborate with the chosen developers to find or create new financial instruments that enable maximum affordability for these units.
Richmond Our Power Coalition (ROPC)
Richmond Our Power Coalition (ROPC) is a constellation of nine community organizations combating the many intersections of oppression facing our city. The participating organizations have cultivated several intersections of power building with Richmond residents to advance a just transition towards a regenerative economy for people and planet. With the leadership of local community members, this coalition is proud to model what a Just Transition looks like in Richmond. ROPC’s direct contributions to the Policy Grant are offering and expanding the existing land and housing committee structures for community stakeholders participation, and mobilizing the 9-organization membership base of Richmond residents to get involved in advocacy and community engagement in service to the objectives of the partnership.
RichmondLAND
RichmondLAND’s mission is to build resident power for community-controlled land-use through community organizing, land acquisition, development, and stewardship of land and affordable housing for long-term community benefit. RichmondLAND is a resident-led non-profit organization open to low to moderate income residents who live and have roots in Richmond and West Contra Costa County. RichmondLAND has deep roots and broad networks in the community that allow for partnership and consensus building across the local ecosystem of housing practitioners, advocates, and residents.
Richmond LAND contributes to this process by coordinating with the fellow on a regular basis, aligning the grant objectives with the organization's existing Public Land in Community Hands Initiative, building resident buy-in through outreach and base-building efforts, and supporting alignment with the organization's existing Envision 2040 and housing element advocacy.
Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDC)
Community Housing and Development Corporation (CHDC) was founded in 1990 by local leaders in North Richmond working to eliminate blight, improve housing opportunities for current and future residents, and create better economic conditions. Over the past 30 years, CHDC’s strategic involvement in building neighborhoods and community participation has resulted in successful models for community planning, fiscal priorities, and preventative measures to ensure the health and well-being of families and communities. CHDC’s mission is to create and sustain vibrant communities for low to moderate income individuals, seniors, and families by providing high quality affordable housing, economic development and supportive services. CHDC’s direct contribution will be as a key community stakeholder, convener of the North Richmond MOU process, and development implementation partner.
History of Las Deltas
HACCC has played a significant role in North Richmond since the 1950s by providing affordable housing to the community through a robust public housing program, that at its peak, offered 224 units of affordable housing across an 11.38-acre main campus, 48 scattered site duplexes, and 4 single family homes throughout the neighborhood. Las Deltas, the main campus, represented more than 20% of the neighborhood’s housing stock at the time the project was decommissioned in 2020. Decades of unsuccessful attempts to bring additional financial resources to the maintenance of the public housing portfolio resulted in the transition of the properties through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and the Section 18 Demolition and Disposition process. Long-time North Richmond residents were relocated from 2017 - 2020 and the affordable rental funding attached to the public housing units at Las Deltas were dispersed throughout the County through the project-based voucher program.
As the HACCC prepares the vacant public housing sites for sale, this process will be the single most transformative factor in determining the future of North Richmond for decades to come. It will have a significant regional impact, due to the sheer scale of the housing development within the Bay Area. This is a pivotal moment in North Richmond and creative policies are needed to support existing and displaced residents' ability to stay, return, and thrive. This is a once-in-several-generations opportunity to integrate affordable housing preservation and production with comprehensive revitalization and community development of the neighborhood in a manner that achieves long-term community wealth-generation, integrates health equity and climate resilience.
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Documents and Resources
For additional information, please see the reports and external articles listed below.
Las Deltas Redevelopment Presentation
North Richmond Quality of Life Plan
ouR-HOME: Resilient by Design
To Place Our Deeds by Shirley Ann Wilson Moore
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
