The city of Pleasant Hill has agreed to sell a quarter-acre of residential real estate to Habitat for Humanity for the low, low price of just $10 so the nonprofit can construct affordable housing.
Habitat for Humanity plans to build seven townhouses at 250 Cleaveland Road and make them available to low- and medium-income households when the group takes ownership of the property.
The land is owned by the Pleasant Hill Redevelopment Successor Agency, set up to oversee the affairs of the now defunct Pleasant Hill Redevelopment Agency, which was dissolved by the state Legislature in February 2012.
Due to the legal complexities involved, the property's transfer had to be approved by the Contra Costa County Countywide Oversight Board, which adopted a resolution Sept. 23, approving the sale.
There were two other offers made on the property from private developers seeking to build market rate housing, including one offer for $100,000 and another for $200,000 to $250,000, but the city would not have gotten to keep that revenue.
"Any money that we would have seen from selling the property would have gone back to the county," city spokeswoman Gayle Vassar said.
That was a factor when the successor agency's board voted to accept Habitat for Humanity's offer. The city will also be providing a $400,000 loan to help cover the estimated $5 million cost of the overall development.
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Now that the city and county have both approved the sale, a spokeswoman for Habitat for Humanity says they hope to make progress before the end of the year on additional paperwork required before the project can
