The Community Before

The Adams Avenue neighborhood was beleaguered by problems, including transients who used the street’s dead end to access homeless encampments along the nearby railroad tracks.

Homes on one side of the street had fallen into disrepair. Some had illegal additions and the structures were functionally obsolete, lacking even paved driveways. 

The Community Now

In 1999, the Fremont Redevelopment Agency moved ahead with plans to replace existing, dilapidated structures with 17 homes affordable to first-time homebuyers. Jointly constructed by Eden Housing and East Bay Habitat for Humanity, seven homes were affordable to low-income homebuyers and 10 for moderate-income buyers. Sales prices ranged from $143,000 to $297,000 – about half the market rate for smaller homes nearby on similarly sized lots. Two of the homebuyers are local public school teachers, one is a child-care provider, two are small business owners, four work for public agencies and one is a new attorney. Seven homebuyers are single parents.

The project helped this neighborhood by:

• Building an entire project affordable to first-time home buyers
• Reserving three homes for graduates of Fremont’s Housing Scholarship Program, which pays rent for 36 months to families increasing their job earning potential
• Implementing “Resale Restriction Covenants” that ensure homes remain affordable to future purchasers
• Creating needed housing near jobs for community members such as teachers, small business owners and public servants