Op-ed | We Should Know: Village Farms Gives Affordable Housing Its Best Chance

By Craig Adelman May 29, 2026

Mutual Housing California has spent decades building affordable homes in Davis and the Sacramento region. We are an established part of Davis’ community fabric, operating six  communities that over 330 households call home. We know what it takes to move housing from a policy or a promise on paper to families with keys in hand — and which proposals are designed to succeed. Just 20 miles away we handed keys to more than 100 families over Memorial Day weekend at our newest San Juan Apartments community in Sacramento.

Adelante (2021), one of six Mutual Housing communities in Davis, reflects continued progress in delivering stable, affordable homes for local residents.

In Davis, we worked with the Village Farms team for more than two years to analyze the feasibility and capacity of its affordable housing site. If the City of Davis makes this land available, we would welcome the opportunity to compete to build it.  More importantly, we are confident that the Village Farms project as proposed before Davis voters gives the community a strong opportunity to deliver the affordable housing it urgently needs. This model works. A proven path to building affordable housing is through a city-held land dedication that improves access to competitive funding. The city then selects an experienced and qualified nonprofit developer to assemble financing and deliver the homes. In just the past three years, Mutual Housing completed two developments on publicly owned land using this approach—including the San Juan community. 

The Village Farms site is exceptional. State funding favors locations near groceries, schools, transit, and parks. This parcel sits across from Oak Tree Plaza, near downtown, and close to schools and services. These advantages contribute to its designation as a “highest opportunity” area, strengthening its competitiveness for scarce state resources.

Village Farms also makes an unprecedented commitment: 16 acres of shovel-ready land delivered upfront—with streets, sidewalks, and utilities in place—along with $6 million toward construction. In nearly four decades of work in this region, perhaps no Davis proposal has matched this level of readiness and support.

Village Farms is structured not just to include affordable housing, but to build it.

Tremont Green (2004) has provided stable housing for Davis families for more than 20 years—helping some residents transition to first-time homeownership.

Craig Adelman is CEO of Mutual Housing California

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