St John's Commons

Mission 

St. John’s Commons is a limited liability company with the sole purpose of building affordable housing targeted for seniors and single people with children coming out of homelessness  on  property owned by St. John’s Episcopal Church in Aptos (St. John’s). The partnership to build  this housing includes the church, People’s Housing (a low-income development company) and  passive investors. Financial support for and supervision of the project is being provided by New  Way Homes and the Central California Alliance for Health. 

Vision: Redefining housing to fit the times 

The number of homeless Californians is the largest in the nation and continues to grow; its  unsheltered numbers are near 80%; housing costs have doubled in 10 years driven by the cost  of materials, over-regulation and land. St John’s Commons is an attempt to lean into new trends  that can bring these costs down and build housing for our unhoused neighbors many can afford  without government rent subsidies. 

Make it easier to build                                                    

St. John’s and People’s Housing were greatly encouraged by the passage of SB4 that allows faith  

communities to develop affordable housing on their properties as a matter of right, cutting through the local zoning process and considerably reducing the time to shovel-ready status. 

Make it smaller 

Average studio apartments are 400-600 sq. ft. Our 6 studios will be 300, our 1-bedrooms 400. Yet,  they are efficiently designed with full bathroom and kitchenette.

Make it cheaper 

You don’t build a car in your driveway, why a home? In partnership with Masaya Homes  (masayahomes.com), pre-fabricated bungalows will be arranged around a courtyard on land  donated by St. John’s Church. This slashes construction costs in half. 

Make it sustainable 

Masaya’s homes’ wood is sustainably harvested from teak plantations in Nicaragua in accordance  labor laws consistent with Sandinista socialist principles. Teak is ideally suited for Santa Cruz,  being highly water resistant and unpalatable to termites, and these units are really beautiful. 

More on mission 

Those coming out of homeless don’t always succeed. Years of living outside saps people of hope,  and the constant stress and threat of theft or attack cause deep trauma. They lose whatever social  network they had, become isolated and they go back to the life they at least knew. St. John’s  Commons will be an intentional community formed through activities and classes from members of  St. John’s, shared meals at the church, chores at St. John’s, and casework from Associated Faith  Communities or People First. A community like this greatly increases quality of life and success  toward employment. All units will be ADA compliant and are within one half mile of a bus stop,  groceries, banks, a donut shop and a hardware store, and less than two miles of Cabrillo College. 

At present 

We have raised as of Feb $710,000 donations and investments and in-kind contributions. We need to raise $600,000 more to be able to break ground on this project, which we expect to do  within the year.

How you can help 

For the project to happen, it needs support from people who value what we are trying to do  and how we are doing it. This is a chance to play an important role in an innovative solution to  homelessness and the housing crisis. 

Investors 

Investors who wish to invest $10,000 or more and have significant assets beyond their personal  home may invest with New Way Homes, a multibillion dollar non-profit developer of affordable  housing projects in Oakland and Santa Cruz. Along with reduced risk, this type of investment  has a smaller, but still significant, guaranteed return, distinct from the project’s annual operating performance. Funds dedicated to St. John’s Commons will pass through New Way Homes to our  project. Please find out more about New Way Homes and their offering at newwayhomes.org. 

Really, you can invest in mutual funds and probably end up funding business doing things you  don’t support or earn a reasonable rate of return and help house people deeply in need. 

Donors 

Donations are most appreciated as they contribute to the viability of the project without financial  return. Donations are tax deductible and a good place to funnel minimum withdrawal required of  IRA’s and 401’s.