Sacramento weighs bonds for Maven on Broadway apartment purchase and reviews homelessness partnership with county

The Sacramento City Council’s Nov. 10 meeting centered on The Maven on Broadway Apartments, a proposed purchase of an apartment complex financed with bonds issued by the city’s Housing Authority. Members of the council, sitting as both the council and the Housing Authority board, held a public hearing on the financing. On the same night, the board of a newly formed nonprofit, Canopy Housing, Inc., voted on whether to join the deal.

The hearing is required under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA), a federal law. Before a public agency can issue tax-exempt bonds for a privately run project, it must give residents a chance to comment. Tax-exempt bonds are loans that investors make at lower interest rates because they don’t pay federal income tax on the earnings. Lower borrowing costs can make it easier to keep rents below market levels. In deals like this, a private borrower typically repays the bonds, not the city’s general fund. Holding the hearing does not by itself approve the purchase. It is a legal step that allows the financing to move forward.

At its own meeting, the Canopy Housing board approved the actions taken at its first meeting and considered a resolution to partner with Ethos Real Estate on buying the Maven on Broadway. Public agencies and nonprofits elsewhere in California have used similar arrangements to buy existing apartment buildings and convert some or all of the units to rents aimed at moderate- and middle-income households. Specific rent limits, income targets, and unit counts for the Maven were not detailed in the agenda titles. Renters and prospective tenants on the Broadway corridor should watch for those terms as the deal is finalized.

Homelessness: a six-month check-in and senior housing

The council heard a Six-Month Report on the City County Partnership for Addressing Homelessness, a joint effort between the City of Sacramento and Sacramento County. The two governments divide responsibilities for shelter, outreach, and services. The county generally handles behavioral health and social services, while the city manages shelter sites and enforcement within city limits. The report was a discussion item, so the council took no binding vote. It gave residents and council members a chance to see whether the partnership is meeting its goals and where it is falling short.

The council also considered a contract amendment for the Rio Linda Senior Housing Homekey+ Project, a grant agreement with developer Urban Capital, LLC. Homekey+ is a California state program, funded by the 2024 voter-approved Proposition 1. It pays to create permanent supportive housing, meaning long-term homes paired with on-site services, for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, especially those with mental health or substance-use needs. The amendment required a two-thirds council vote rather than a simple majority. That higher bar usually applies to certain changes in contracts or spending. For older adults in north Sacramento facing housing instability, the project is one of a small number of state-backed options aimed specifically at seniors.

Budgets, audits, and fees

Council members, again sitting as the Housing Authority, held a public hearing on the 2027 Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) Proposed Budget. SHRA is the joint city-county agency that runs public housing, administers rental vouchers, and lends money to affordable housing developers. Its annual budget determines how many households receive rent help and how much money is available for new affordable construction. The same item set a schedule for when developers can apply for SHRA multifamily loans and mortgage revenue bonds, which are low-cost financing for apartment projects. For residents, that schedule largely determines when new affordable housing proposals will start showing up in the pipeline next year.

Separately, the council considered authorizing SHRA to hire the accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP for audit services. An outside audit is a routine annual review of how the agency spends public money, including federal housing dollars, and federal funders require it.

The council also received the Citywide Transportation Development Impact Fee Annual Reports for the year ending June 30, 2026. Impact fees are one-time charges paid by builders of new homes and commercial buildings to help cover the cost of roads, transit, and other infrastructure that growth requires. State law requires the city to report each year how much it collected and how it spent the money. The fees are built into the cost of new construction and often passed along to buyers and renters, so the report shows homebuyers where that money goes.

What’s coming up

The Maven on Broadway purchase still needs final financing approvals. Details on rents and income eligibility should come out as the deal closes. SHRA’s 2027 budget will guide housing spending starting in January, and its new application calendar will shape which affordable projects compete for funding in the year ahead. Residents interested in the homelessness partnership can expect another progress report in roughly six months. Meeting agendas and video are posted on the City of Sacramento’s Legistar site.