SAN RAMON — Construction of San Ramon's first affordable independent-living senior complex began Friday.

Once completed, the 105-unit Valley Vista complex at 20801 San Ramon Valley Blvd. will be available to rent to low-income seniors 62 and older. Subsidies will prevent renters from spending more than a third of their incomes on rent and utilities.

The project addresses an unmet need in the city, said Brooke Harris, San Ramon's Housing Program manager. There are other affordable apartment complexes in the city, to which seniors are eligible to apply, but even those rents may be too high for seniors on fixed incomes, Harris said.

The $50 million public-private project is expected to be completed by next fall and will be managed by American Baptist Homes of the West, which manages nine affordable senior complexes in the Bay Area, and a total of 32 retirement communities in California, Arizona, Nevada and Washington.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development contributed $13.8 million toward the project, the city's redevelopment agency put in $5.5 million and Contra Costa County ponied up $2.5 million. The remaining funds were secured with the help of Satellite Housing in Berkeley.

The complex, located next to The Church on the Hill, consists of two separate buildings connected by a sky bridge.

A County Connections bus stop will be built in front of the complex for a route that will allow residents to
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access other parts of the city and the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station.

Applications for the complex will be available about six months before the complex is finished. Those interested should check the project manager's Web site, www.abhow.com., this fall.

Contact Sophia Kazmi at 925-847-2122. Follow her at Twitter.com/sophiakazmi.

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