Last updated: May 2024
Many Noticias Watsonville listeners have asked about affordable housing availability around Watsonville. Noticias Watsonville has created a resource page of waitlists for affordable housing in Watsonville. This list is not exhaustive.
Have a question about affordable housing or waitlists? Send Noticias Watsonville reporter Fidel M. Soto a message in English or Spanish on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/18312066981. Email questions to [email protected].
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Assistance signing up for waitlists
La Manzana Community Resources is a resource center in downtown Watsonville. Its staff can help with applications for affordable housing waitlists, including translation and form filling in English.
- 521 Main St., Suite Y, Watsonville.
- (831) 724-2997.
- Hours are 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Who is eligible for affordable housing?
Each affordable housing project has different eligibility requirements that include maximum household income and often additional requirements.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and California authorities set income limits for affordable housing annually. Income limits are based on the total household income before taxes.
Each housing project – or even units within a project – may base eligibility on income limits set by separate authorities. Occasionally, a project will use a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level as a threshold for eligibility.
As a general guide, the area median income for Santa Cruz County for 2024 and income thresholds set by the California Department of Housing and Community Development are shown below:
| Household size | 1 person | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Area median income (AMI) | $92,950 | $106,250 | $119,500 | $132,800 | $143,400 | $154,050 | $164,650 | $175,300 |
| 60% of AMI | $55,770 | $63,750 | $71,700 | $79,680 | $86,040 | $92,430 | $98,790 | $105,180 |
| 50% of AMI | $46,475 | $53,125 | $59,750 | $66,400 | $71,700 | $77,025 | $82,325 | $87,650 |
| 40% of AMI | $37,180 | $42,500 | $47,800 | $53,120 | $57,360 | $61,620 | $65,860 | $70,120 |
| 30% of AMI | $27,885 | $31,875 | $35,850 | $39,840 | $43,020 | $46,215 | $49,395 | $52,590 |
For example, if you live with your spouse, one child and your parents, your household has five people. If the combined income of your household of five people was $80,000 before taxes, your household made less than 60% of the area median income for Santa Cruz County ($86,040). If a project uses income limits set by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and units are for households making less than 60% of area median income, your household may be eligible to apply for units in that project.
Many affordable housing units have additional eligibility requirements. Units could be reserved for people who are:
- Seniors.
- Farmworkers.
- Disabled.
- Veterans.
- Homeless or formerly homeless.
- Current residents of the city or county.
Some affordable housing projects only accept people referred by a partner organization or from the county housing authority’s waitlist. That waitlist has been closed for several years and there is no date to reopen it, housing authority staff said in June 2024. There were more than 9,800 applicants on the list as of June 2024, and some applicants are selected by lottery on the housing authority website.
Accepting applications
Sparrow Terrace
141 Miles Lane, Watsonville
Seventy-two homes are under construction on Miles Lane in Watsonville in June 2024. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local)
Project: A 72-unit affordable housing project with supportive services remained under construction in June 2024 and is expected to finish in late summer 2024, said Lyn Hikida, a spokesperson for MidPen Housing. It includes studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.
Application contacts: 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.
Housing Authority waitlist: 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.
Open affordable housing waitlists around Watsonville
Applying for a housing waitlist is not a guarantee for housing. It can often take years to be offered housing from a waitlist.
The following waitlists are not for open housing units, but for potential future openings from MidPen Housing.
Jardines del Valle
76 Murphy Road, north of Aromas.
Jardines del Valle. (MidPen Housing)
- Property: The 18-unit property includes two two-bedrooms, 12 three-bedrooms and four four-bedroom homes.
- Eligibility: Households who earn 30% to 60% of area median income. MidPen requires an identification card but not necessarily a Social Security number.
- Waitlist application: To apply for the waitlist, email [email protected] or call 831-763-1844 to request an application. Waitlist applications are also at 76 Murphy Road.
- Application help: Applications are only available in English. For application help, contact La Manzana Community Resources at 521 Main St., Suite Y, Watsonville or 831-724-2997.
San Andreas
295 San Andreas Road, near Pajaro Dunes
San Andreas. (MidPen Housing)
- Property: The 42-unit property includes two one-bedroom, four two-bedroom, 24 three-bedroom and 12 four-bedroom homes.
- Eligibility: Farmworker families earning up to 50% of area median income. A farmworker family is a household with at least one person who derives his or her income from agricultural employment. A farmworker family also could include a person who derived a substantial portion of their income from agricultural work prior to retirement or disability. MidPen requires an identification card but not necessarily a Social Security number.
- Waitlist application: To apply for the waitlist, email [email protected] and request an application. There are also applications at 295 San Andreas Road on Tuesdays and Thursdays during regular business hours.
- Application help: Applications are only available in English. For application help, contact La Manzana Community Resources at 521 Main St., Suite Y, Watsonville or 831-724-2997.
Via del Mar
124 W. Beach St., Watsonville.
Via del Mar. (MidPen Housing)
- Property: The 40-unit property includes 13 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom and seven three-bedroom homes.
- Eligibility: Farmworker families earning up to 60% of area median income. A farmworker family is a household with at least one person who derives his or her income from agricultural employment. A farmworker family also could include a person who derived a substantial portion of their income from agricultural work prior to retirement or disability. MidPen requires an identification card but not necessarily a Social Security number.
- Waitlist application: To apply for the waitlist, fill out the application on MidPen’s website.
- Application help: Applications are only available in English. For application help, contact La Manzana Community Resources at 521 Main St., Suite Y, Watsonville or 831-724-2997.
Interest lists for affordable housing under construction in Watsonville
Interested residents can sign up to receive an email or text message when the waitlists open.
Sparrow Terrace
141 Miles Lane, Watsonville.
Seventy-two homes are under construction on Miles Lane in Watsonville in June 2024. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local)
- Property: 72 units including studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. The project is expected to finish in late summer 2024, said Lyn Hikida, a spokesperson for MidPen Housing.
- Eligibility: Households earning 30% to 60% of the area median income. 35 units will be reserved for farmworker families and 6 units will be reserved for formerly homeless people.
- Waitlist: Sign up to be notified of an open waitlist. (The form is in English).
- Read Santa Cruz Local’s overview of the project.
- Read more about the project on MidPen’s website (English only).
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