A rendering of the under-construction development on Miles Lane shows a person jogging on a sidewalk and greenery between multiple apartment buildings.

Seventy-two homes are under construction on the 100 block of Miles Lane in Watsonville. (MidPen Housing)

Last updated: July 2024

Project name: Sparrow Terrace

Location: 141 Miles Lane, Watsonville

The project combines several addresses on the 100 block of Miles Lane in Watsonville to build 72 homes.

A map showing the location of the proposed "Sparrow Terrace" housing complex on Miles Lane in Watsonville.

Status

The complex remained under construction in October 2023 and is expected to finish in 2024, a MidPen Housing Corp. representative said.

Application status

Applications for 28 units are being accepted through Aug. 2, 2024. Twenty-three of those units are reserved for farmworker households. Fill out a pre-application online, call 831-707-2130 or go to 316 Main St. in Watsonville.

The remaining units will be filled from the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz’s Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) waitlist, according to MidPen. The waitlist is closed, and eligible households will be mailed a letter from the housing authority.

Developer

The Foster City-based nonprofit MidPen Housing Corp.

Project description

  • Total units: The project calls for 72 units that include 16 studios, 19 one-bedroom units, 18 two-bedroom units and 19 three-bedroom units. Six buildings are being constructed.
  • Affordable units: All of the units are planned as affordable for people with incomes of 30-60% of Area Median Income, according to state limits. The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz awarded 43 housing vouchers to the project, according to MidPen. Six units are reserved for individuals who have experienced homelessness and 35 units will be prioritized for farmworker families, said MidPen representative Lyn Hikida.
  • Waitlist for units: Sign up to be notified of an open waitlist. 
  • Parking: 102 spaces.
  • Related services: MidPen Resident Services is expected to provide “free, onsite services such as employment preparation, exercise and nutrition classes, and connections to community resources,” Hikida wrote in a statement. The County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency is expected to provide case management for residents with supportive housing needs. An Encompass Community Services rehabilitation center called Sí Se Puede is on a neighboring property and planned to be rebuilt.
  • Details: The project includes a community building with a kitchen and learning center, garden boxes, a playground and solar power, Hikida wrote in a statement. 
  • Development financing: Private sources as well as the City of Watsonville, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz, Wells Fargo, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, a farmworker housing grant, a No Place Like Home grant programs, the California Community Reinvestment Corp. and Central Coast Community Energy. 
  • Construction and design: Monterey-based Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects, Sunnyvale-based LPMD Architects and Milpitas-based L&D Construction Co., Inc.

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Sparrow Terrace on Miles Lane in Watsonville remains under construction in June 2024. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local)

Sparrow Terrace’s 72 homes are under construction in June 2024. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local)

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