Baker Lyon, Resources for Community Development Project manager, opens the groundbreaking ceremony for Stargell Commons, an affordable housing project, in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Stargell Commons will consist of 32 units of family housing for families that earn 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group) ( Laura A. Oda )

ALAMEDA -- Alameda officials and housing advocates celebrated the start of construction on the city's newest affordable housing complex Wednesday by donning hard hats and sinking gold shovels into the earth for a groundbreaking.

As if to underscore the event was ceremonial, a dump truck rumbled in and out of the site of the future Stargell Commons, its engine sometimes muffling the speeches.

But the fact that workers already are busy transforming the dirt lot buoyed the spirits of those on hand, who said the $17 million project will help those scrambling to find an affordable place to live in the Bay Area, with its skyrocketing rents.

Dan Sawislak, executive director of Resources for Community Development (RCD), puts on a Pirates cap to honor the late Willie Stargell during a groundbreaking ceremony for Stargell Commons, an affordable housing project, in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Stargell Commons will consist of 32 units of family housing for families that earn 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group) ( Laura A. Oda )

"It's incumbent upon us to get more affordable housing for every market rate that's built in Alameda and, I'd say, throughout the area," Mayor Trish Spencer said.

Stargell Commons, which is being built on former U.S. Navy property, will provide 32 units of housing in three buildings, which will surround a parking lot and courtyard.

A fourth one-story building will face the courtyard and include a community room, laundry facilities and an office for a property manager.

The city's Housing Authority and Berkeley-based Resources for Community Development, an affordable housing developer, are behind the project, located at 403 Stargell Ave.


The buildings will feature solar panels for heating water, as well as energy-saving water and light fixtures. The goal is to secure a LEED Gold certification after the buildings are completed in March 2017.

Vanessa Cooper, the Housing Authority's executive director, called the future complex "a stellar example" of a green project.

The groundbreaking comes as Alameda County supervisors are considering putting a $500 million affordable housing bond on the November ballot as a response to the Bay Area's housing crisis.

Executive Director of Resources for Community Development Dan Sawislak, left, joins city, county and Housing Authority leaders in the ceremonial groundbreaking for Stargell Commons, an affordable housing project in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Stargell Commons will consist of 32 units of family housing for families that earn 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group) ( Laura A. Oda )

"We think there's really a pressing need," Supervisor Wilma Chan said at Wednesday's event.

All units at Stargell Commons will be for families who earn between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income, which in 2015 was $92,900 for a family of four.

The floor plans include five one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom units, plus one unit for the on-site property manager.

Rents are expected to range from a low of $468 for a one-bedroom unit to a high of $1,368 for a three-bedroom unit.

The property is within walking distance of the Alameda Landing shopping center, and it borders the site where TRI Pointe Homes is now building 300 market-rate homes. Catellus is the master developer of Alameda Landing, which includes the center and the homes.

Stargell Commons is named after Wilver "Willie" Stargell, who attended Alameda's Encinal High School and went on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 21 years. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.

Dan Sawislak, executive director of Resources for Community Development, wore a Pirates cap in Stargell's honor during the groundbreaking, despite being a Chicago Cubs fan.

"I am proud that this development is named after him," Sawislak said about Stargell. "I'm not going to say, 'Go Pirates.' But I will say, 'Go Willie.' "

Contact Peter Hegarty at 510-748-1654, or follow him at Twitter.com/peter_hegarty.

[[[Normal]]][[[Normal]]]{"Infobox Head"/}More information

{"Infobox Text"/}For details on Stargell Commons, including information on applying to become a resident, call 510-841-5046.