MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
I hope you read the stories in our 2023 annual report and feel some of the inspiration that guides us each day.
From community-based organizations, to mission-driven developers, to our philanthropic partners and hard working city staff, creating a Bay Area where every person and unique neighborhood thrives will require many people, institutions, and systems working together. LISC Bay Area is proud to be the connective tissue between them.
In 2023, we brought our practice of learning, designing, and implementing to bear in developing a new, creative financing tool to make it easier to build affordable housing on public land. We are following the lead of our partners on the ground to imagine spaces for Black and POC small businesses and people to thrive – and building towards that vision one streetlight and beautiful block at a time. And we have the ongoing privilege of leveraging our relationships, technical knowledge, and our capital resources to support a community’s vision to address the housing crisis in their community.
2024 is bringing challenges and momentous opportunities. The budget deficit that the State of California and our cities and counties face is already having profound impacts on our collective ability to create a future where every person has a place they can call home, financial security, and self-determination over their lives. We and our partners were disappointed in our State leaders’ decision to eliminate a program designed to prevent the displacement of at-risk California residents by facilitating the purchase of residential buildings by non-profit organizations.
On the other hand, Californians have an opportunity to change the landscape for affordable housing throughout our state, with a proposition that would make it easier to raise funds for affordable housing on the ballot in November. Locally, we’re building capacity for local leadership to guide investment and program implementation for the 7th Street corridor, identifying opportunities to bring capital to community partner priorities, and expanding our view to support more corridors across Oakland.
I hope you read the stories in our 2023 annual report and feel some of the inspiration that guides us each day. We’re grateful to be part of the rich ecosystem that is the Bay Area.
Elizabeth Wampler Interim Executive Director
2023 BY THE NUMBERS
$176M
invested
square feet of commercial space
$535M
leveraged
affordable homes & apartments
PORTRAITS OF IMPACT
Unlocking Potential PLUS Program to Transform Affordable Housing on Surplus Public Land in Northern California
With over 100,000 acres of surplus public land in California, the Public Lands Unlocking Sites (PLUS) program, backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is set to transform affordable housing development in Northern California. Equipped with a $10 million guaranty, PLUS will enable the creation of over 800 affordable housing units by 2029 across 12 counties.
Despite the surplus of public land, securing predevelopment funding has historically been a challenge, even for seasoned developers. This is where PLUS steps in, providing the necessary financial support to overcome this hurdle for projects aimed to build multi-family homes for households earning up to 80% AMI.
Take, for example, a project in Santa Cruz. A developer partnered with the city and local transit district to redevelop a 2-acre site into 127 affordable housing units. Despite significant financial strain, the developer pushed forward, aiming to apply for tax credits. With PLUS, such ambitious projects gain the momentum needed to succeed. By leveraging over 100,000 acres of surplus public land, PLUS empowers developers to swiftly bring affordable housing projects to life, fostering stronger, more resilient communities.
Reviving a Legacy 7th Street Thrives to Transform West Oakland’s Historic Black Business Corridor
7th Street Thrives is a place keeping collaborative advancing a cultural & economic agenda for West Oakland’s historic Black business corridor -- for Oakland, by Oakland. Stewarded by Local Initiatives Support Corporation Bay Area (LISC Bay Area) & East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC), the vision of 7th Street thrives is to renew the corridor as a bustling place of commerce for Black businesses.
Before the mid 70s, West Oakland’s 7th Street corridor was home to more than 70 enterprises like markets, cleaners, restaurants, hotels, gyms, and nightclubs. Nightclubs that birthed West Coast Blues attracted people from around the world to Oakland. Urban renewal and federal programs dismantled West Oakland and its thriving Black community. Negative impacts of these decisions displaced people and businesses, created poor air quality, and broke up critical social and cultural institutions. Because 7th Street remains a powerful symbol of Black culture and belonging in Oakland, legacy residents have undertaken decades of work in service to the neighborhood and are primed for its revival, the 7th Street Thrives strategy and agenda is reigniting this dream.
Over the last two years, 7th Street Thrives has worked toward building a thriving Black business, arts, and cultural district that renews and sustains the corridor’s rich legacy of Black solidarity, cultural activism, and political resistance while addressing the need for affordable and permanent commercial space in one of the most historically significant corridors in Northern California. They have done this by building capacity to activate underutilized space, aiding Black & POC businesses with critical tools, and envisioning how to revive a market environment to repair and enliven the vibrant character of the 7th Street Corridor.
The work ahead sees a future for 7th street that focuses on creating social, cultural, and economic wealth for Black and legacy Oaklanders, bolstered by mutual aid models that foster community ownership.
Transforming Community Through Faith Reverend Marlyn Bussey's Vision for Foster Care Housing in San Mateo County
In the heart of San Mateo County, a transformative housing project led by Reverend Marlyn Bussey of Saint James AME Zion Church is gradually reshaping the community. Reverend Bussey brought on Reverend Nixon as a partner to fulfill her vision of a housing development for young adults leaving the foster care system that would not only provide shelter but also foster a sense of belonging and stability. The church, long a pillar of social justice and community support, saw this project as an extension of its mission to uplift and empower the most vulnerable members of society.
The vision was ambitious and faced several challenges, aiming to integrate the housing project seamlessly into the community while navigating the complex predevelopment phase, limited resources and capacity. The turning point for the project came with its inclusion in Bay Area LISC’s Faith and Housing Program.
“LISC opened doors for us, connecting us with key stakeholders and financial institutions that were essential for our project's success. Without that initial $10,000 grant from LISC, we wouldn't have had the momentum to get this project off the ground. LISC’s combination of financial support, technical expertise, and strategic partnerships has been a game-changer for us. Our journey has shown that with faith, dedication, and the right support, we can create lasting change and uplift our community,” says Pastor Bussey of Saint James AME Zion Church.
Saint James' housing project exemplifies the potential of faith-based organizations to tackle social issues and foster community development. With support from organizations like LISC Bay Area, this project demonstrates the power of collaboration and strategic partnerships.
OUR 2023 FUNDERS
2023 Private Sector Support
Bank of America
BMO
Santiago Bunce
California Bank & Trust
Sarah Clowes
Joseph M. Horiye
JPMorganChase
Kaiser Permanente National Community Development Fund of the East Bay Community Foundation
Meta
PNC Foundation
Thayer Rosenberg
San Francisco Foundation
Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizen Bank
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
State Farm
Ms. C. Augusta Stewart
Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation
U.S. Bank
Wells Fargo
2023 Public Sector Support
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
We are grateful to our investors and funders for their collaboration and continued support.
OUR TEAM
LISC Bay Area Staff
Elizabeth Wampler Interim Executive Director
Asha Rao Senior Director of Investments
Sasha Werblin Director of Economic Development
Sally Smyth Senior Community Development Underwriter
Evita Chavez Senior Program Officer
Jasmine Curtis Program Officer
Rudy Licea Program Assistant/Office Manager
Bryant Duong Assistant Program Officer
Local Advisory Committee
Romi Hall, Chair Director of Network and Influence, Center for Community Investment
Carla Dartis Executive Director, Movement Strategy Center
Christopher Brown Senior Vice President, Citi
Jack Gardner Chairman of the Board, The John Stewart Company
Josh Ishimatsu Deputy Director of Strategic Partnerships, SV@Home
Kathy Avanzino Vice President – Project Manager, Community Lending (Retired), U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
Robert A. Reinhardt Senior Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Nathanial Owen Vice President – Director of Community-Based Investment Programs, US Bank