When my organization teamed up with the Oakland Housing Authority to develop our latest affordable housing complex, we knew there would be a lot of interest. In the face of soaring housing costs, the Bay Area has a well-documented shortage of affordable homes.

True to our expectations, applications poured in for the new Prosperity Place building, which opened this year in Chinatown. By the end of the process, we had received a total of 12,000 applications — for just 71 new affordable apartments. Behind each and every one of those applications is the story of people and families looking for a place to call home.

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Drummond: Oakland affordable housing battle heats up At the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp., our healthy neighborhoods approach is about helping everyone find safe, affordable housing as well as ample opportunities to live a fulfilling life, regardless of race, ethnicity or income. Achieving this vision for Oakland will require all of us to think differently about how to tackle the affordable housing crisis we’re facing.

Yes, we need more new buildings with affordable units but EBALDC’s experience with Prosperity Place is a reminder that new buildings aren’t enough to keep up with the incredible demand. It’s also not enough to rely on rent control to keep a lid on escalating prices. Instead, we must lock in affordability in Oakland neighborhoods by buying existing buildings and stabilizing the rents for those buildings now.

That is the purpose of EBALDC’s new Oakland Healthy Neighborhoods Fund. In partnership with public and private investors, we are purchasing apartment buildings at risk of converting to higher rents. We then restrict rent increases for eligible low- and moderate-income renters in the buildings, making sure they can stay in their homes.

We also are renovating the buildings to make sure they are safe and attractive. As new units become vacant, we restrict occupancy to families earning less than 80 percent of the median income for the area.

In the last year, EBALDC acquired 85 apartments in the Webster and Castlemont neighborhoods through this new fund; another 58 units are in escrow. We intend to grow this number to 2,000 within the next decade.

Our partners — including the San Francisco Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, the city of Oakland and Beneficial State Bank — are working with us to make sure Oakland has the affordable housing we need.

We believe the Oakland Healthy Neighborhoods Fund is an idea that is long overdue. As of late 2016, the average Oakland apartment went for $3,000 a month. At that level, we are pricing long-term residents and families out of the Bay Area. This includes teachers, public servants, nonprofit and service industry workers, artists and many young people.

Oakland has become a magnet for growth and new residents because of its affordability, diversity and rich history and culture. But we are losing a lot of what makes Oakland special — including longtime residents who love their neighborhoods but simply can’t afford to stay.

Responsible property owners must increase rents to pay for increasing costs of utilities, waste removal, new tax assessments, repairs and other common expenses. But rents do not need to double or triple to pay for these costs. By creating community-controlled housing, we can protect the best parts of our city.

I can’t remember a time when the pressures on low- and moderate-income people in the East Bay were in greater contrast with the prosperity that is so evident across our region. That is why it is time for new, innovative solutions to the challenge of creating and sustaining healthy, safe and diverse neighborhoods.

Joshua Simon is executive director of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. For more information, visit www.ebaldc.org.