Last updated: April 2023

Read about other notable projects in Santa Cruz County on Santa Cruz Local’s Housing and Construction resource page.

Project name: Bienestar Plaza, 1520 Capitola Road

  • Location: 1520 Capitola Road project near 17th Avenue
  • Status: Housing counstruction in the project is expected to be completed by fall 2023. Construction of the two clinics is complete. The Santa Cruz County supervisors approved the project in November 2019. Construction began in 2021.
  • Developer: MidPen Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer
  • Housing applications: Applications will be accepted from Monday, April 24 to May 12, 2023. A leasing office is expected to open Monday at St. Stephens Apartments at 2510 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. More information is available in English and Spanish, as well as answers to frequently asked questions. Fifty-seven new homes have been built behind health and dental clinics on 3.6 acres, according to the Housing for Health Partnership. Housing Choice voucher holders will occupy 25 units. People on the MidPen waitlist will occupy 16 units, and the remaining units will be chosen by a lottery of income-qualified applicants.

The 1500 Capitola Road project near 17th Avenue calls for 57 units of affordable housing and two clinics. (Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects)

A 57-unit housing complex is expected to finish construction in fall 2023 near Capitola Road and 17th Avenue in Live Oak. (Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects)

A dental clinic on the 1500 block of Capitola Road under construction in June 2022. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

Construction contunes at 1500 Capitola Road in February 2022. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local)

Project description

  • Affordable units: This project calls for 57 units of affordable housing on the 1500 block of Capitola Road in Live Oak.
  • Health Clinics: The project will include two clinics: a Dientes Community Dental Care and a Santa Cruz Community Health Center.
  • Details: The project includes 192 parking spaces between the new buildings and a row of homes on Leila Court.

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