Twenty studio apartments opened at 415 Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz in May 2025. (Housing Authority of Santa Cruz County)
Last updated: May 2025
Project name: Natural Bridges Apartments
Location: 415 Natural Bridges Drive
Status
- A grand opening event was held May 9, 2025 to celebrate the project’s completion. Tenants were expected to come from a housing authority waitlist
- Construction started in May 2023 after city approval in April 2022. Construction was anticipated to finish in August 2024.
Waitlist status
The Housing Choice voucher waitlist remained closed with more than 9,800 households on it as of June 2024. There is no set date for when it may reopen, said Rayne Perez, principal management analyst for the housing authority.
Developer
The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz.
Project description
- Total units: 20.
- Affordable units: All units are affordable up to 50% of area median income based on federally set income limits, rather than state-set ones, according to Graham.
- Height: Three stories.
- Details: The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz owns the land. The project includes apartments from 250 to 400 square feet. Part of the gym’s parking lot is expected to become parking for the housing complex. The application asked for several adjustments to the building code, including:
- Six feet of additional building height, for a total of 36 feet.
- A reduction in the northern side yard setback from the required 12 feet to 7 feet.
- A reduction in required parking spaces from 20 spaces to 12.
A rendering shows apartments at 415 Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz. (Thacher & Thompson Architects)
Apartments under construction in June 2024 at 415 Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local)
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