Facebook announced that it planned to use $1.5 million from its Innovation Fund to provide grants to five organizations working to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or secondary homes.
The Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, in partnership with Facebook and the city of Menlo Park, announced the five grantees set to use the Facebook funds toward building housing, improving the efficiency of the construction process and ultimately driving down the cost of housing production.
PFS Corporation
Viking Carrier
Mariotti Building Products
The grants will be made to East Palo Alto Community Alliance and Neighborhood Development Organization, Preserving Affordable Housing Assets Longterm Inc. and Youth United for Community Action to build two secondary homes as part of a co-op community land trust with a leadership development program; to United Hope Builders, to build a factory in East Palo Alto to manufacture prefabricated homes and employ local residents; to City Systems, to create a project showcasing secondary home constructions in garages; to Soup, to promote a new financing model with low upfront costs for financing secondary homes; and to Symbium, to help homeowners and nonprofits plan ADUs and aid cities in streamlining the approval processes for the secondary homes, sometimes referred to as in-law units or granny cottages.
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“United Hope Builders is tackling the housing crisis in the Bay Area head-on, by building a steel modular housing factory in East Palo Alto — creating 100 great jobs — and working with counties, cities, faith-based and other non-traditional landowners to develop affordable housing on their land,” said Pastor Paul Bains, chair of United Hope Builders.
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Gary Fleisher is the Managing Director and contributor to the Modcoach Network and its affiliated blogs. Email at modcoach@gmail.com.
