Salinas ‘village’ will build 106 affordable apartments.

A village-style development soon to break ground near downtown Salinas will have significantly more affordable housing than expected. Tynan Village, a 171-unit apartment and mixed-use complex, will be 62 percent affordable instead of 40 percent as planned.

“We are glad we are able to do more,” says Mary Jo Zenk, deputy executive director of the Housing Authority of Monterey County, which is developing the project. “Even the market rate [units] will be affordable to working families. It will be great.”

On Nov. 15 the Salinas Planning Commission approved the new affordable housing plan and other changes to the development, including more open space and off-street parking.

With little opposition to the infill project, the modifications aren’t expected to be appealed to the City Council, which approved the development in March 2005. Tynan Village will be built at the corner of East Alisal and Front streets on the site of a former lumberyard. Zenk says the Housing Authority increased the amount of affordable housing to get more financing. The project is funded by a combination of tax credits and bonds as well as city and state monies. Groundbreaking is set for Dec. 15.

The apartments will range from one to four bedrooms with 106 units set aside for families earning 35 percent, 40 percent and 60 percent of Monterey County’s area median income. To qualify for the three different groups, a family of four cannot earn more than $21,770, $24,880 and $37,320 respectively.

The apartments will be split between three buildings. One of the buildings will house between four and eight stores on the first floor. The stores may include a coffee shop, dry cleaning, offices and an eatery, but the tenants haven’t been finalized.

Residents won’t have to walk far for other shopping because the development is close to Oldtown.

The six-acre site will have about 84,000 square feet of open space, a one-third mile fitness trail and a full-size basketball court. Also, the Monterey County Health Consortium has partnered with the Housing Authority to offer health assessments and classes on topics such nutrition, cooking, and diabetes for residents.