CLPHA Press Room

Investment Made Possible Through MTW Flexibilities

From the Oakland Housing Authority's press release:

On Thursday, October 3, 2024, city, state, and nonprofit leaders convened at Palo Vista Community Gardens, a public housing community in East Oakland, to announce a series of complementary investments in broadband infrastructure and digital access aimed at bridging the digital divide in Oakland’s most underserved communities. These initiatives, spanning multiple sectors and funding sources, represent a coordinated effort to ensure that every resident, regardless of income or location, can access reliable, high-speed internet and the devices necessary to thrive in today’s digital world. 

These investments will expand access to many of the least connected neighborhoods in urban Alameda County—communities that many advocates had feared would be excluded from the State’s once-in-a-generation digital equity investment, and where internet performance is—on average—ten times slower than in higher income, predominantly White communities. Speaking on the dialogue that prioritized Oakland’s highest poverty communities, Assemblymember Bonta shared,  “I have to say that we had courageous conversations. They weren’t easy…There was certainly consternation, but at the heart of that was love. Love for the city. Love for the concept of justice and equity and a recognition that connectivity in this day and age is a civil right.”

Oakland Housing Authority Free Internet Initiative

In December of 2023, the Oakland Housing Authority’s Board of Directors unanimously approved $2.5M to fund the first phase of the OHA Free Internet Initiative. OHA Executive Director Patricia Wells announced that service installation is currently underway. This initiative will provide free WiFi to nearly 2,000 residents in OHA’s four largest properties through at least 2027. Director Wells emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “The internet is a 21st-century necessity - essential for all aspects of life, including learning, banking, economic opportunity, and health and social services access. With this commitment, OHA deepens its pursuit of an Oakland undivided, where students, families, and residents have access to the internet as a utility.” The goal is to deploy at the remaining sites by Fall 2024.

The City of Oakland’s $15M FFA Last Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao formally announced the  $15M Oakland Connect grant awarded by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In July, the CPUC voted unanimously to fund Oakland Connect—the City of Oakland’s $15 million grant proposal to expand access to reliable, high-speed internet in Oakland. Mayor Thao expressed that she is "extremely proud of the team that worked on this and wants to thank the CPUC for selecting our project and providing this opportunity to invest in the most underserved communities in East and West Oakland." The Oakland Connect project will pave the way for the city to expand high-speed internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved families in East and West Oakland while also connecting 14 community anchor institutions and 9 public safety buildings.

The California Department of Technology $20M Middle Mile Investment in Oakland

The California Department of Technology (CDT) is building the largest public broadband network in the United States—8,000 miles of fiber optic cables that connect entire communities to high-speed, reliable internet. The CDT shared that installation is underway on these “internet superhighways” along every eligible state right-of-way in Oakland, including I-580, I-880, and I-980. This state-driven project in Oakland will be a cornerstone of the Statewide network, providing the bandwidth needed to build last-mile networks, including the City of Oakland’s Oakland Connect FFA Last Mile project.   

Oakland Public Education Fund’s $1M Student Connectivity Fund for Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) 

Supporting student connectivity, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyra Johnson-Trammell lauded Oakland Public Education Fund’s announcement of a $1M Student Connectivity Fund that will provide home devices and internet access to students in need in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). In her remarks, she highlighted OUSD’s dedication to ensuring students have the tools they need to thrive and expressed her gratitude “...the partnership through Oakland Undivided is invaluable to this effort, and now the Oakland Public Education Fund’s $1M Student Connectivity Fund will help us carry on the mission to provide all students in need with a computer and home internet access for the fifth consecutive year.”

These four initiatives represent a bold new era for digital equity in Oakland, where collaborations will bring connectivity and opportunity to underserved residents for generations. 

From CBS News Los Angeles:

City and state leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of a South Los Angeles 800-apartment-unit complex to be built above a new Costco, with 184 units dedicated to low-income housing.

The developer, Thrive Living, said it's the first new housing in Los Angeles to move forward under state law AB2011, which aims to streamline approvals for apartments and mixed-use projects that include low-income housing.

The 5-acre lot near the intersection of Coliseum and La Brea, will be home to the first mixed-use development in the nation to have Costco as the anchor retail tenant. 

"The status quo is over, waiting around for projects to get started and to fail, and for opportunities to die. Los Angeles is moving forward with unprecedented action, driven by urgent collaboration in both the public and the private sector, " Mayor Karen Bass said.

The 5035 Collesium project will feature a new Costco at the street level and 800 apartments above, with 184 dedicated to low-income housing. The remaining units will be offered as nonsubsidized, affordable and workforce housing.

According to Cielo Castro, LA Housing Authority board chair, the affordable housing units will be available to families earning $41,610, at a rental rate of $1,040, including utilities.

Read CBS News Los Angeles' article "A mixed-use Costco, low-income housing development breaks ground in South LA."

From the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's website:

As the school year begins, teachers and school social workers are reminded of the serious toll housing instability can have on students—students’ school attendance, academic performance, and emotional state can be negatively impacted. That’s why Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS) was created: to reduce homelessness among families with elementary-aged kids in Minneapolis.

Stable Homes Stable Schools is a program taking on the homelessness crisis among Minneapolis families through an innovative partnership between MPHA, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), and the YMCA of the North. The SHSS program addresses homelessness among Minneapolis Public Schools students’ families through various levels of support: emergency short-term assistance, multi-year rental assistance, and case management. For nearly 1,900 families, SHSS has been a lifeline.

Knowing safe and stable housing is the most significant out-of-school factor for predicting student success, the leaders from the various organizations teamed up to create a wholistic approach to addressing student homelessness. The SHSS program works to improve families’ housing stability, students’ school attendance, and students’ educational outcomes through rental assistance and wrap-around supportive services. All told, nearly 1,900 families have been supported by SHSS since its launch in 2019, with more than 4,500 children benefitting from the program.

Read MPHA's website article "As School Year Begins, Stable Homes Stable Schools Brings Housing Supports to MPS Families."