Commentary: A Path to Affordable Housing in Davis

By Sandy Whitcombe, Special to The Enterprise

Apr 4, 2026

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Building low-income affordable housing is one of the most complicated endeavors in real estate. Every decision we've made in designing the Village Farms Affordable Housing Plan has been aimed at one thing: giving these affordable homes the highest possible chance of actually getting built. 

We live in a moment when many market rate rental projects are indefinitely stalled because they simply aren't financially feasible given building costs and high interest rates. Low Income Affordable Housing faces an even steeper climb: rents are just a fraction of market rate, which means developers must find ways to dramatically reduce building costs. Typically, a project must qualify for multiple overlapping funding sources and stack them together until the math works.

At the top of that financing pyramid sits one critical program: the federal 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). This is the most competitive and most powerful source of affordable housing funding in the country. These are credits purchased by banks and corporations to offset their federal tax liability. One positive development: the amount of available LIHTC funding permanently increased in the last tax bill, providing another $1 billion annually in this funding. 

When a project qualifies, this funding can cover 70% of construction costs.

The catch? Funds from these credits are fiercely competitive. In California, fewer than one in three applications win this funding. Village Farms is uniquely designed to be that one.

Location is key 

The scoring process for LIHTC funding rewards proximity to community resources. These are points that can't be manufactured; they're either there or they're not. The site we chose, on the corner of Covell and L Street, earns these proximity points across the board.

High-scoring projects are generally located within walking distance of public transit hubs, full-service grocery stores, schools, libraries and parks. The Village Farms Affordable Housing checks all the boxes. It’s walking distance from multiple grocery stores, downtown, and nearby dental and medical offices. It’s directly across from Oaktree Plaza with pharmacy, groceries and businesses like Subway, and Supercuts. Crucially, it earns points for access to all three levels of public school: elementary, middle, and high school. And it will sit adjacent to our expansive new community park - another scored amenity.

Improved donated land

Readiness to proceed is a factor.  The land donation for all 360 affordable homes is prioritized at the beginning of the development.  The Affordable Housing parcel will be shovel-ready (graded and improved with streets, sidewalks and utilities) before a single market rate permit can be issued. 

The value of improved land itself is part of the financing stack. Sixteen acres in a prime Davis location could be valued at more than $24 million.  Further, points are awarded for cost-efficient development. By donating substantial acreage, we enable the kind of two- and three-story walk-up construction that reduces building costs by at least 15% compared to taller structures. 

Some have questioned our decision to dedicate this land to the City rather than directly to a developer. Setting aside the politics: this is the right call. The City will select the best qualified affordable housing developer and City-owned land provides another meaningful additional advantage in the LIHTC scoring process. This is precisely why the City recommended this path.

Beyond 16 acres of improved land, Village Farms has guaranteed an unprecedented $6 million, cash, toward construction. This cash contribution significantly strengthens our competitive position for funding.

It’s unfortunate that an opponent of Measure V wrote an op-ed picking apart the most generous Affordable Housing contribution in Davis history. It’s upsetting that anyone would jeopardize this most promising opportunity for 280 low and very-low income families to have a roof over their heads in Davis. 

In regards to her criticism of our construction guarantee language, context is key: Davis has never required such guarantees for affordable housing due to complex financing process and timelines.

However (on top of unprecedented land and cash) we added an unprecedented commitment to withhold 160 of our premium custom until at least 100 affordable homes break ground.  We are not holding back townhomes or starter homes, but the majority of the large lots that represent the most (and maybe only) profitable phase of the project: ie, after tens of millions in infrastructure and transportation improvements are finished and all parks, open space, greenbelts, trails and the Davis Bike Loop are completed. These custom lots are effectively held in reserve as a backstop. It's a meaningful commitment, structured to allow our missing middle housing to move ahead while the affordable housing financing moves through its complex financing process. 

Davis needs housing, both affordable housing and attainable housing, and we need it soon. We want to see families housed. We want to support our schools. And we want to do it in a way that's actually achievable.

We are local families with deep roots in this community. We have never walked back a commitment or gone back on our word in the five decades we have been building homes for our community. Village Farms Affordable Housing represents our genuine effort, informed by expert guidance, structured for competitive success, and backed by real financial skin in the game, to bring these homes to the people who need them most.

Please learn more about our seven local families at VillageFarmsDavis.com.

— Sandy Whitcombe  is one of the Village Farms Davis Project Managers and a member of one of the seven families behind Measure V