Unique Healthcare-Housing Campus Breaks Ground in Santa Cruz

By HCO Staff

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—Bogard Construction broke ground in late May on 1500 Capitola Road, a health and housing campus located in the heart of Santa Cruz County’s Live Oak neighborhood. In a community where nearly 15 percent of Live Oak School District students are homeless, thousands of adults do not have a doctor, and 78 percent of adults on Medi-Cal do not have a dentist, the 3.7-acre health and housing complex will increase access to healthcare and affordable housing for the most vulnerable in the community.

The six-building project has received $6M in investments from the Central California Alliance for Health in addition to numerous other donors including Dominican Hospital, Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, and many private donors. The County tapped its Low- and Moderate-Income Asset Fund for $5 million of the development costs. Along with Bogard Construction, the development team is comprised of MidPen Housing, who purchased the property from the county for $3.5 million, Santa Cruz Community Health and Dientes Community Dental Care. The construction manager is Blue Water Construction, and the project’s architect is Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects.

“We are proud to be starting construction on this community-serving project,” said Jared Bogaard, president of Santa Cruz-based Bogard Construction. “We are also honored to be an integral member of a passionate team of development partners comprised of local organizations that are helping to bring a network of facilities that provide high-quality housing and healthcare to our community.”

The project’s first phase includes a 20,000-square-foot medical clinic and 11-chair dental clinic. Santa Cruz Community Health has been serving the medical and mental health needs of underserved Santa Cruz County residents since 1980, with a special focus on families. The new clinic will provide medical, behavioral health, specialty, and pediatric care. Dientes Community Dental Care has a nearly 30-year track record of providing affordable, high-quality and comprehensive dental care through multiple clinics and a 30+ location outreach program. The clinics are expected to open in 2022.

Santa Cruz Community Health CEO Leslie Conner adds, “We are committed to improving access to quality care for those who need it most. We are deeply grateful for all the support we’ve received from our partners and the community.”

Phase two, which is projected to start in Spring 2022 for MidPen Housing, includes four, three- story residential buildings with 57 units. In addition to managing more than 120 properties throughout Northern California, MidPen owns and manages 13 affordable housing communities in Santa Cruz County, serving families, senior, and special needs populations and providing on- site resident services tailored to the unique needs of each population. The Live Oak buildings’ one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are expected to be ready for occupancy in late 2023.