FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
MidPen Housing was founded in 1970. MidPen has built over 130 affordable housing communities and manages over 9,000 units across 12 counties in Northern California. To maintain the high quality of our properties, in 1981 MidPen Housing established MidPen Property Management Corporation, an affiliated management company, to manage our properties.
To qualify for an apartment, applicants must meet certain criteria as required by the funding sources, which includes income limits based on household size. Income and rent limits are based on the Santa Clara County Area Median Income (AMI), which is updated annually.
This community will serve households making between 30% – 70% of the area median income. Applications will be publicized and made available several months prior to the end of construction. Individuals who asked these questions at the community meeting MidPen hosted on 10/2/25 were invited to visit MidPen’s Property Management and Resident Services table for a more detailed response, and to obtain information that may apply based on their personal circumstances. If you are interested in receiving an update when leasing applications are available in the future, please sign up for project updates on the “Participate” tab of this website.
Applications will be accepted during an open application period. After the close of the application period any applicable priorities and preferences will be applied and a lottery will be conducted to establish applicants’ positions on the waiting list. Applications will then be processed based on the order of that waiting list and applicants will be contacted for an interview. Applicants will be screened for credit and criminal history at that time.
Yes! To be added to our email list, please provide your contact information under the “Participate” section of this site
If you or someone you know is looking for a currently available affordable housing unit, please visit MidPen Housing’s website under our “Find Housing” page: https://www.midpen-housing.org/find-housing/
Find more information here: sunnyvale.ca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/1910/637821539276000000
1.04 acres
If we were able to increase the unit count at 295 South Mathilda by including studios or single room occupancy (SRO) units, we would not be able to increase the number of parking stalls due to height and financial constraints.
MidPen also does not recommend replacing the one-bedroom units currently included in the 295 South Mathilda design with SROs. SRO’s or micro-units tend to share amenities, such as kitchens and bathrooms. Both studio units and SROs do not have a separate bedroom from the main living area and have less square footage than one-bedroom units. Regulated rents for SRO units are lower than one-bedrooms, but not substantially. For these reasons, prospective residents for non-supportive units at family properties tend to prefer one-bedroom units over SRO units (as well as studios in many cases). MidPen has an SRO property in downtown Sunnyvale, which has a higher turnover rate than the typical MidPen property. One-third of the rental income at this property is from project-based vouchers, or rental subsidies, which are not anticipated to be available for 295 S Mathilda.
Proposed funding sources include 4% tax credit equity, tax exempt bonds and City and State soft loans, and a conventional mortgage. The project expects to compete for 4% tax credit equity in the “Large Family” project category.
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee defines Large Family properties as having a minimum of 25% 2-bedroom and 25% 3-bedroom units. Large Family properties in high or highest resource locations, such as 295 South Mathilda’s location, get an additional point in State bond financing competitions, which can be critical for a financing award.
The community engagement plan provided upon execution of the Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the City of Sunnyvale in 2024 included one-on-one conversations with key stakeholders as part of early outreach, a community open house, and maintaining a communication list for ongoing updates. In addition, MidPen offered a tour of two MidPen properties in Sunnyvale to introduce neighbors to MidPen Property Management and answer management related questions. We hosted a design-focused community meeting on October 3, 2025. MidPen also updated our community engagement plan to include information about our protocols during construction including robust, open communication and letters to nearby homes with construction updates, as well as transparent communication practices during ongoing operations.
A project’s competitiveness for State funding is determined by a formula which includes cost efficiency. More expensive projects are less cost efficient. If the number of units at 295 South Mathilda was reduced lower than the current 122 units, but the fixed costs such as land, parking garage, and fees such as design, engineering and financing are unchanged, then the project will be less cost efficient because the fixed costs are carried across fewer units. This will disadvantage the project for State funding, which is necessary to get the project built.
MidPen’s first priority is to partner with the City and align with its priorities. At this time, a 100% Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) unit mix and senior housing are not recommended given the City’s vision for this community as a family property. From a project funding perspective, new 100% PSH and senior developments are also financially challenging in the current funding environment due to the scarcity of new project-based vouchers.
Senior and permanent supportive housing communities typically serve residents with fixed or very limited incomes. The rent that we can reasonably expect these households to pay is very low – on its own, the rental income would not be enough to cover ongoing operating costs. As a result, these projects require additional rent subsidies in the form of project-based vouchers, which are funded by the federal government and administered by the County. In the current federal environment, new project-based vouchers are not expected to be available.
A “family” unit refers to a unit that is large enough to accommodate larger households. This may vary across funding sources but typically means 2- and 3- bedroom units (or larger).
Measure A affordable housing funds generated by a Santa Clara County bond measure approved by voters in 2016 have been largely exhausted.
Applications are managed through a lottery process that includes filtering by applicable preferences, such as a Sunnyvale live/work preference and no-car preference. Application screening criteria include but are not limited to credit and criminal background checks. Residents are recertified annually to confirm income eligibility.
Tenants must comply with house rules per their lease with MidPen Property Management. Lease violations are subject to eviction.
A preference for people who live or work in the City of Sunnyvale will apply to all non-manager units to the extent allowed by law and project funding. This requirement will be imposed on the project via a City agreement. The duration that an individual has lived or worked in the City of Sunnyvale at the time of application is not currently being contemplated.
During construction, neighbors are kept informed through regular updates from our general contractor. Our general contractor will have a dedicated liaison for all communications with neighbors, including answering questions and providing updates. MidPen also maintains an email contact list of neighbors and interested parties who wish to receive regular updates throughout the process. After construction is complete, MidPen will have an onsite community manager who lives on the property and will be available to respond to any questions or concerns from neighbors. MidPen has approximately 12 communities in Sunnyvale with nearly 1,000 residents. We take pride in responding quickly to neighbor and City requests.
The building will be served by two centrally located laundry rooms. One of these will be located on the second floor to provide convenient access to the children’s play area in the courtyard, for individuals who may be doing chores and watching children at the same time. The apartments will not have in-unit laundry. Laundry equipment and infrastructure need regular maintenance to ensure they continue to operate in good condition. We provide central laundry rooms to ensure laundry facilities are inspected regularly and well maintained.
According to the California Courts: Judicial Branch of California website, construction of the new courthouse is estimated to take place between March 2026 and September 2028. The construction for 295 S. Mathilda is currently projected to begin in early 2028. Based on these timelines, there may be some overlap in early 2028 when both projects are under construction. During construction, it is the responsibility of our general contractor to secure parking for construction workers without impacting street parking.
MidPen’s Property Management team will move in immediately upon the end of construction to begin managing building operations. At that time, the phone number and email address for the on-site community manager will be distributed widely to neighbors. This contact information will also be easily accessible from MidPen’s website, which lists the management contact information for every MidPen property.
The secure bicycle room on the ground floor can be accessed most directly through the front lobby entrance. Cyclists may also enter through the garage vehicular entry if they prefer.
The primary factor influencing the timeline is the schedule for State funding applications. State funding programs release applications at specific times throughout the year, with some available only once annually. The projected construction start in 2028 is based on the anticipated timing of upcoming funding cycles. If construction starts in early 2028, we expect move-ins to begin at the end of 2029.
City of Sunnyvale’s crime statistics webpage utilizes the LexisNexis Community Crime Map for crime data. The City’s crime statistics webpage can be found here: https://www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/your-government/departments/public-safety/public-safety-services/crime-statistics
As a 100% affordable housing development, 295 S. Mathilda can utilize provisions of the State Density Bonus Law and build up to 83ft (7 to 8 stories) facing S. Mathilda Avenue and 66ft (5 to 6 stories) facing Charles Street. This project currently proposes to build 6 stories along S. Mathilda and no more than 3 stories along Charles Street to complement the neighborhood context and nearby structures.
Reducing the height of the portion facing Charles Street from 3 to 2 stories would necessitate the loss of 4-8 units of affordable housing units. It’s important to note that the three-story sections are limited to the northwest and southwest corners along Charles Street. Between these corners, a decorative fence approximately six feet tall will be installed. Since the building will use standard ceiling heights without any extra-tall spaces, the three-story portions are comparable in height to the Maxwell building across the street, where it faces Charles Street.
At this time, we are not aware of any plans by VTA to add more bus stops near the property. The closest bus stop is currently about 600 feet away (VTA 53 stop at Washington and Charles). VTA 21, 22 and Rapid 522 also have stops within ½ a mile of this site.
Commercial space is not included in the design at this time.
The development will include 65 assigned vehicle spaces, for a ratio of 0.53 spaces per unit. The development also offers 4 motorcycle or scooter parking stalls. Per state law, there is no minimum parking requirement because the site is within ½ mile of the Sunnyvale Caltrain Station and 100% affordable.
Parking is expensive to build because it typically requires the construction of an above ground or below ground level of concrete structure. For example, adding a level of underground parking would cost an estimated additional ~$10M. Considering this, and because we are located adjacent to the downtown commercial core near many high-quality amenities, MidPen intends to utilize more urban solutions to support residents’ transportation needs.
We intend to implement a no-vehicle preference during leasing, so long as it is not prohibited by any applicable law or project funders. Households without vehicles will be prioritized, targeting residents who may not need or want a car but cannot otherwise afford to live in transit-rich, amenity-rich neighborhoods. MidPen is also exploring shared parking options to rent parking spaces from nearby garages or parking lots.
In addition to vehicle parking, MidPen aims to offer residents a suite of mobility options of high value such that they are able to equitably access work, school, and other amenities. We are exploring options to provide residents with transit passes such as VTA passes or Clipper’s All Agency Bay Pass, as well as coordination with Zipcar. The design already provides an on-street loading zone on Charles Street that can accommodate ride-share drop off/pickups. The building design provides more than 1:1 bicycle parking within secure bicycle rooms, which also includes a bike repair station, capacity for cargo bike parking, and racks that can accommodate e-bikes. To the extent existing third-party mobility programs such as Peery Park Rides and Bird scooters are in place at the time of leasing, residents would be able to opt into those initiatives as well.
MidPen does not have its own funds to pay for housing development. As a non-profit organization, our role is to compete for local and State housing program funds and leverage other conventional sources to get affordable housing built. Our job is to position this development to align with the City’s priorities while remaining competitive for State housing funds.
A project’s competitiveness for State funding is determined by a formula which includes cost efficiency. More expensive projects are less cost-efficient. Adding parking without increasing the number of housing units at this site would raise the overall cost per unit, which will make the project less competitive when applying for limited State funding resources.
If the loading zone were located on the property, it would be for the property’s use only. Locating it on the street allows everyone in the community nearby to use it. This feature was included because we heard from neighbors that there has been a rise in double-parked delivery trucks in recent years. The on-street loading zone does not decrease street parking since the project is also removing an existing curb cut that is no longer needed on Charles Street.
Yes, the property will provide a mix of standard sized and compact spaces per City of Sunnyvale code.
The design currently includes 8 EV charging stations. All other stalls will be “EV ready”, which provides the infrastructure to add more EV charging stations as needed in the future if demand increases.
The cost of construction is estimated to be roughly $77M, if built today. In alignment with City of Sunnyvale and State of California requirements, this project will pay prevailing wages to construction workers.
MidPen aims to work with Zipcar to locate a Zipcar vehicle near the property, ideally on a public street so that it can be accessible to both our residents and neighbors in the surrounding community.
Whether any of the proposed features at 295 S. Mathilda could work at a mixed income building will likely depend on its funding sources and applicable regulations.
MidPen’s Resident Services team provides programs and services to our residents that are tailored to their needs – this often includes ensuring food security through onsite food distributions in partnership with local organizations. A community fridge for the larger neighborhood has not been implemented before, however we can explore this option. Thank you for the suggestion!
MidPen’s Property Management team will move in immediately upon the end of construction to begin managing building operations. At that time, the phone number and email address for the on-site community manager will be distributed widely to neighbors. This contact information will also be easily accessible from MidPen’s website, which lists the management contact information for every MidPen property.
Units of the same size will have the same layout, which are designed to maximize functionality.
The secure bicycle room on the ground floor can be accessed most directly through the front lobby entrance. Cyclists may also enter through the garage vehicular entry if they prefer.