The Murphy Ranch Townhomes officially opened Friday with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony, even though residents have been moving in
since September.
The Murphy Ranch Townhomes officially opened Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, even though residents have been moving in since September.
“It was built on budget and ahead of schedule,” said Jeff Oberdorfer, executive director of First Community Housing.
First Community Housing of San Jose is a private, nonprofit developer, with a commitment to building affordable and green buildings that set well in the local environment. They are working in partnership with the city’s Redevelopment Agency.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony sounded like an acceptance speech for the Oscars: The list of people thanked seemed endless. Outside a country western band played and plenty of food was available after the ceremony.
Murphy Ranch Townhomes was the project of First Community Housing, and they were grateful to all those who invested money and time to the project including Bank of America and the Sobrato Family Foundation. As a token of their gratitude, and to commemorate the raising of the first wall in November 2002, supporters received chocolate hammers.
The ceremony officially opened the first phase of this affordable housing project in Morgan Hill. On hand for the ribbon cutting were members of the city council, including Mayor Dennis Kennedy; financial backers, members of the Morgan Hill Police Department, including Chief Jerry Galvin and Lt. Joe Sampson; other city and county officials and Assemblyman John Laird.
“I want to congratulate all of those who worked on this project,” Laird said. “This is just the first step.”
Energy efficient was the mantra of the day.
Murphy Ranch Townhomes boast a solar heated pool and solar power generators on the roofs of the homes and the car ports. Water will be recycled and residents will receive eco-passes for free yearly rides on VTA. In addition, the power consumption beats state regulations by 25 percent.
Kennedy praised the project’s energy efficiency saying that he is striving for more in Morgan Hill.
“I want this city to be a green city,” said Kennedy.
Complementing the “green” goals, Murphy Ranch residents will enjoy the convenient location. There are two grocery stores within a mile of the homes, bus stops and CalTrain are within walking distance, schools are close and the Community and Cultural Center is only a block away.
There was nothing but praise for the project from those who attended Friday’s ceremony. According to Kennedy, that praise has been shared by the Morgan Hill community.
“There have been no complaints from anyone from the community about this project,” said Kennedy. “There is already a sense of a fine neighborhood.”
Betsy Powell, director of communication for First Community Housing, said she is pleased with how the project has turned out and looks forward to the future possibilities for the residents and Morgan Hill.
“It has been a whole community effort,” said Powell. “I look forward to the residents becoming a part of Morgan Hill as a whole.”
Residents who have moved in already have been embraced by the staff working at Murphy Ranch. Aurangzeb Ishaq moved in with his wife and two children and has only kind words to describe his welcome.
“Everything is very nice,” said Ishaq. “I really appreciate all that they have done for us. They are helpful and never ignore us.”
Murphy Ranch Townhomes are affordable housing for people whose income is far below the county average. Rents will be low with some units available for workers earning only 22 percent of Santa Clara County’s median income – $16,896 for two people. Others will be marketed to renters earning up to 60 percent of the median – $46,080 for two people. Two- and three-bedroom units will cost $383 to $1449 per month, compared to similar units renting at market rate of $1450 to $1750 per month.
Another way of looking at rents is that a family of two earning $17,000 can rent a two-bedroom apartment for $383 a month; a family of eight, earning $76,000 would pay $1449 a month for 4 bedrooms.
As a part of Measure P compliance, the project was planned in two phases. The first, completed in early September, was the largest with 68 units completed. The second, slated to begin in 2004, will build the final 32 units.
Aside from providing affordable housing, planners were committed to giving the residents a leg up. First Community Housing has teamed up with the Mexican American Service Agency to provide educational services for adults and children.
Murphy Ranch will offer English as a Second Language and computer classes for adults in their computer lab. According to Dennis Grudenhoefer, coordinator for the adult education program from MACSA, says that, for now, the program will be small.
“Right now there will be one class on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m.” said Grudenhoefer. “We only expect six to 12 participants. The services are open to all residents and the classes are free.”
