Posted on: November 5, 2025
Source: The Napa Valley Register; Author: Jesse Duarte
St. Helena’s biggest affordable housing project in 30 years was quietly approved last Friday after no public hearings and no public opposition.
Now the applicants just need to figure out how to pay for it.Forty apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms, will be built on a 1.8-acre property east of Highway 29 across from Vintage Hall. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is currently using the land as a staging area.The project is a collaboration between two nonprofits: Our Town St. Helena and Burbank Housing Development Corp. of Santa Rosa. In 2022 the applicants secured an option to buy the property from the Joseph Phelps family for $1 million. The family subsequently reduced the purchase price to $0, in effect making it a donation.
The project was approved Friday at the staff level, requiring only minor design review, a minor sign permit and a density bonus approval.The project isn’t ready to build yet. The applicants still need to come up with a financing plan — probably a combination of loans, tax credits, grants and donations.Jennifer La Liberte, executive director of Our Town, said it could take one to two years to nail down the financing. She plans to launch a fundraising campaign in 2026, “but we’re open to receiving donations whenever people want to make them.”
Once the financing is secured, the applicants can exercise their purchase option for the land, pay for construction drawings, and go through the building permit process.The apartment complex will be accessible from Fountain Street. The design assumes that Mills Lane will be realigned with Grayson Avenue, which was a condition of approval for the nearby Farmstead hotel.There will be 56 on-site parking spaces, 116 new trees, and a common area with room for picnics and playing.
The 40 units will be set aside for households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income. As of 2025, that equates to between $48,100 and $128,150 for a family of four. The combination of low-, very low-, and extremely low-income units will depend on how much money the developers can raise.The site was designated for housing in St. Helena’s 2023 city housing element.The project was eligible for staff-level approval due to Senate Bill 330, a state law intended to promote housing development. Staff approved the project on Friday after determining it was consistent with St. Helena’s general plan, zoning ordinances, and design and development standards. Staff also found the project would not be detrimental to public health, safety and general welfare.
Read the full article, here.
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