Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA), a nonprofit organization with six decades of experience in affordable housing, has been selected to build and operate a new supportive and affordable housing facility at People’s Park, according to an announcement from the University of California, Berkeley.
The planned building will offer about 100 apartments for formerly unhoused and low-income individuals. It will also provide on-site support services and case management aimed at promoting residents’ well-being and stability. SAHA will work with the project’s architecture team to finalize development plans. While there may be adjustments to the number of apartments as design and funding are finalized, officials said the overall size and exterior design would remain largely unchanged from earlier proposals.
Chancellor Rich Lyons commented on the partnership: “We’re proud to welcome SAHA as a new partner in the People’s Park housing project. Our provision of this land for this project underscores the university’s deep commitment to advance the greater good by expanding the supply of urgently needed housing for our community’s most vulnerable residents. We look forward to continuing our extraordinary partnership with the city of Berkeley that has been so essential for this project.”
Funding for the project includes $14.5 million allocated by the city from Measure O, an affordable housing bond approved by voters in 2018, along with $16.6 million from California’s No Place Like Home program. These funds cover about half of projected construction costs. SAHA and UC Berkeley plan to seek additional funding sources in coming months.
Once completed, the facility will join Alameda County’s coordinated housing system, with future residents referred through existing county processes and waiting lists.
Susan Friedland, CEO of SAHA, stated: “Satellite Affordable Housing Associates is honored to have been selected by UC Berkeley to develop and operate supportive and affordable housing as a key component of the People’s Park housing project. We are proud to bring six decades of affordable housing development and operating experience to our local community here in Berkeley.”
The new building will be located next to Judith E. Heumann House, an 11-story student residence set to house more than 1,100 undergraduates when it opens for the fall 2027 semester.
Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii welcomed the collaboration: “We look forward to continuing our partnership with UC Berkeley and supporting SAHA as they bring this much-needed housing to completion.”
SAHA currently manages dozens of affordable housing communities across seven Northern California counties, serving over 4,000 residents.
UC Berkeley has previously worked with local partners such as First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley on initiatives like Sacred Rest—a daytime drop-in center providing basic services for people experiencing homelessness in the Telegraph neighborhood. The campus also employs a full-time social worker dedicated since 2017 to assisting unhoused individuals secure permanent housing.
This announcement follows other recent milestones at People’s Park, including construction progress on student housing developments like Judith E. Heumann House. In January, UC Berkeley is set to begin work on another major residential project—Bancroft-Fulton Student Housing—which is expected to further increase campus housing capacity by over 50% compared with levels prior to its student housing initiative launched in 2018.
