Resources for Community Development is breaking ground on a veterans housing project Wednesday in Oakland, kicking off construction of a 61-unit project with on-site supportive services. A public and private investment of over $36M is funding the project at 2126 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Completion is expected in 2019.

The investment supports the city and county’s Housing First policies and a commitment to end veteran homelessness. The building will include 31 units for formerly homeless veterans.

“Too many veterans are without safe, affordable housing,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. “The opening of these units at Embark Apartments is a critical step in the process of easing the pain of the regional affordability crisis and ensures that direct services and opportunities will reach the vulnerable population of veterans who have sacrificed so much.”

Embark Apartments, designed by SGPA Architecture and Planning, will be a six-story building with studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments on a 0.3-acre site. The general contractor is J.H. Fitzmaurice Inc.

Amenities include two multipurpose rooms, office space for resident services, a Veteran Affairs staff person and property manager, and community-serving commercial space. The development is close to two Veteran Affairs service centers, which along with Abode Services will provide supportive services to residents.

Residents will have access to outdoor space in a podium-level courtyard and a roof deck. The project will incorporate green building, such as rooftop solar panels, energy and water-conservation fixtures and universal design features that will help with ease of access and movement throughout the building.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development in partnership with the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs provided early funding of over $7.1M through the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention program.

Funding also came from the voter-approved A1 bond. Project-based rental assistance administered by the Oakland Housing Authority will keep rents affordable and 30% of residents will pay 30% of household income for each unit. Private funding came from several institutional investors including Bank of the West and Wells Fargo.