ACCESS-IBLE
Eastern Sierra Community Housing (ESCH) celebrated a big win on Tuesday.
Construction for the Access Apartments, a small-scale housing initiative, began this week.
The project aims to create 13 new long-term rental units to house people who make less than 80% and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI), the latter being a generally unaided group of people within the housing spectrum.
“[Access Apartments] does allow for some higher AMI units,” said Nolan Bobroff. “We definitely have the need for those units, but not every state program allows for that.”
In fact, it took a lot of work and time to get the state to even comply with this project.
For perspective, Executive Director Patricia Robertson was on maternity leave when the nonprofit started working with the state on Access Apartments. Her son was four and a half by the time of the July 30 groundbreaking event.
ESCH initially purchased the land for the units in October 2017 after it received a partial donation of the property from the former tenant, Mammoth Country Glass. ESCH submitted a grant application to the state in 2019, but it wasn’t awarded until 2021.
Some of the delay was caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction and labor markets. Costs soared, plans were revised, and the project seemed perpetually on the brink of stalling, said Robertson.
State grants are complicated because most of the requirements are established for urban communities like San Francisco or Los Angeles, which have entirely different landscapes and needs than a rural destination town like Mammoth Lakes, Robertson added. People without housing in those cities look different than they do here; many in Mammoth are working, and many are making more than 80% AMI.
Robertson read really carefully through the fine legal print, searching for loopholes and work-arounds.
“It’s just so complicated in trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together when the puzzle is made for a different environment,” she said. “I think the state always raises an eyebrow when they see me coming.”
At first, the team identified ten different sources of funding, each with its own set of requirements. All the while, the anticipated start date for the project was pushed back further and further.
To address the escalating costs and sustain momentum, a major fundraising campaign was launched.
Their goal was to raise $100,000 in private donations—a figure that was nearly doubled, reaching nearly $190,000.
The fundraising process helped garner support from the local community. ESCH estimated Tuesday’s turnout for the groundbreaking was around 50 people.
Still, the most important funds were federal sources.
Currently, the project is 65% funded with CDBG and Section 4 Federal funds, amounting to more than $7 million. The rest of the funding for the $11 million project comes significantly from the town, the county and that raised during their fundraising push.
Under the new funding composition, the building is only required to make seven of the units serve people making below 80% AMI. The rest will serve people making below 120% AMI.
ESCH has absorbed a lot of the carrying cost over the past many years— property taxes, operating expenses, and snow removal — since they couldn’t secure reimbursements for those outlays.
The project will convert the former Mammoth Country Glass building into 11 one-bedroom apartments and two studios. It caters to young professionals, small families, and individuals looking to settle into the community.
The project is slated to take 18-24 months, with a tentative total completion between December 2025 and summer 2026.
Looking forward, the nonprofit plans to manage the property in-house, covering costs through a management fee. Robertson hopes this approach will help maintain the property and cover ongoing operational costs, so they can continue to provide affordable housing without overburdening their budget.
