Future location of “Sunset Heights.”

Eureka city government got some good news yesterday, when it found out that a state agency had awarded its “Sunset Heights” development near the Eureka Mall had won a $21.7 million grant from the California Strategic Growth Council.

The grant, which comes from the council’s “Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities” fund, will help finance the building of 43 affordable housing units aimed at families, along with transportation improvements near the project and throughout the city.

Eureka city government acquired the Sunset Heights lots in 2022, through a land swap with the Pierson Company, who, in a complicated deal involving Redwood Capital Bank, traded its former headquarters on the bluff above Broadway for three downtown parking lots that had been slated for development.

The Sunset Heights project is being managed by the Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation, a Ukiah-based nonprofit developer.

Yesterday’s award will help finance the first phase of the Sunset Heights project. The second phase, which will include roughly the same number of units, is still seeking funding, according to Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery, who spoke with the Outpost briefly this morning.

Architectural rendering of ‘Sunset Heights.’ File graphic via the City of Eureka.

The monies come from the California’s “Cap and Trade” program, which was recently rebranded as “Cap and Invest.” The program is designed to limit the amount of greenhouse gases produced in the state.

As such, a lot of the award — some $8 million — will go toward beefing up alternative transportation in the city. This includes improved sidewalks, more frequent bus schedules and a brand-new bicycle boulevard, after the fashion of the newly redesigned C Street, but running from west to east. Slattery told the Outpost that the city is currently looking at using 15th Street for that project.

Here’s a fuller picture from the Strategic Grown Council’s project description: 

The Sunset Heights – Parcel 1 project, located in the City of Eureka, will develop 43 units of affordable housing for households earning 30 – 60% AMI in addition to improved pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure. The infill site is situated in a densely populated neighborhood on a bluff overlooking Humboldt Bay and the Broadway/Highway 101 Commercial Corridor below. Fast moving cars traveling to and from the Commercial Corridor make it difficult for pedestrians and bicycle riders to get around safely. The project proposes to improve safety on those streets, near the entrance and exit of the new housing development, through traffic calming measures to slow down cars. New and improved walkways will make it easier for residents of all abilities to access shopping, other key destinations nearby, and a transit service that will be doubled in frequency. A new bicycle boulevard will improve east-west connectivity within an existing multimodal network throughout the city that encourages mode shift, improves safe access to bicycle facilities and walkways, and connects bicyclists to transit services.

The new GreenPoint Rated Gold housing development will feature views of Humboldt Bay, outdoor exercise equipment to encourage physical activity among residents of all ages, secured bike parking, and an on-site bus stop for Dial-A-Ride shared transit users. The project features partnerships with Westside Community Improvement Association and the City of Eureka to expand existing workforce development and anti-displacement programming. The AHSC award will also fund the creation of a new program to encourage active transportation and safety in partnership with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities.

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