SUNNYVALE, CA, July 26, 2024—Public- and private-sector partners joined MidPen Housing and members of the Hall family today to celebrate the construction framing milestone of Ira D. Hall Square, a new affordable housing community located directly across from the Lawrence Caltrain Station.
The community is named in honor of the late Ira D. Hall, one of MidPen’s founders and first staff member who led the organization until 1976. Through his long and successful career, he championed social justice and racial equity.
Ira D. Hall Square will provide 176 rental apartments affordable to families and individuals who earn 30-70% of Area Median Income (currently $37,470-$124,880, depending on family size). Forty-five of the apartments are reserved for individuals experiencing homelessness, who will be referred through the County of Santa Clara Coordinated Entry System.
“Mr. Hall’s vision and leadership set MidPen on course to become the organization we are today,” said Matthew O. Franklin, President and CEO of MidPen. “We applaud his legacy and our public partners’ commitment to affordable housing, and we can’t wait to welcome residents to their new homes in late 2025.”
“Ira D. Hall Square is a quintessential example of transit-oriented development, and I’m so excited to see this project move forward,” said Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Vice President Otto Lee. “These 176 units will be a great boost for the neighborhood. It’s truly a perfect location for housing across the street from the Lawrence Caltrain Station. Special thanks to the team at MidPen and the City of Sunnyvale for their collaboration in increasing affordable housing opportunities for Santa Clara County’s residents and families.”
The community is the first to be constructed under the City of Sunnyvale’s Lawrence Station Area Plan–a vision to redevelop the underutilized areas near the Lawrence Caltrain Station into a high density, mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood that provides homes affordable to people of all income levels.
“We are delighted to see Ira D. Hall Square coming to fruition on City-owned property in a great location near transit and amenities,” said Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein. “This new community demonstrates Sunnyvale’s commitment to increasing affordable housing and providing supportive services to our most vulnerable residents. It is also a testament to our decades-long partnership with MidPen that has already added nearly 860 affordable homes to the City.”
Amenities at Ira D. Hall Square will include a community room with a kitchen, outdoor play areas, elevators, laundry facilities, and an after-school learning center for resident children. MidPen Services will coordinate a broad array of onsite programming designed to empower residents to seek economic mobility, educational opportunity, and mentally and physically healthy lives.
Financing for the development is being provided by the City of Sunnyvale, County of Santa Clara, County of Santa Clara Housing Authority, California Housing Finance Agency, Bank of America, Destination: Home, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. The architect is Studio T Square, and the general contractor is Cahill Contractors.
“Ira D. Hall Square will provide much needed workforce housing and permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals and families in Santa Clara County, and represents the positive transformation underway around the Lawrence Caltrain neighborhood of Sunnyvale,” said Raquel González, Bank of America President, Silicon Valley. “As one of our largest investments in new affordable housing in Silicon Valley, this project is led by longtime partner MidPen Housing and is a public-private partnership with the State, County, and City leadership working together to make this important new community a reality.”
Visit www.midpen-housing.org to learn more about MidPen Housing. Interested prospective residents may visit https://www.midpen-housing.org/property/ira-d-hall-square/ to join the interest list.