All News

In December 2025, the Tupelo affordable housing project received a $28 million award from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program, a grant administered by the California Strategic Growth Council. Soon, two acres in the heart of Woodland will become a 73-unit midrise affordable housing community, strategically located within walking/biking distance to grocery stores, childcare, and local businesses on Main Street.

Tupelo was one of four projects in the Sacramento region awarded in 2025, which together totals more than $154 million in AHSC investments.

“It’s not just this community that’s going to benefit,” said Ian Evans, executive director of the Yolo County Housing Authority, “it’s all of Yolo County.” The housing authority has led the development of the vision for the community, including as an active participant in the Armfield/Lemen Avenue Neighborhood Framework Plan project, which began in 2022 with a Green Means Go grant from SACOG.  

The Yolo County Housing Authority is partnering with the City of Woodland, Yolo Transportation District (YoloTD), housing developer, Brinshore, and architecture firm, Operative Office to bring this neighborhood vision to reality.

Beyond Housing: Transit, Neighborhood Revitalization, and Job Training

The Tupelo project will bring additional benefits beyond more housing units to the City of Woodland. Funding includes investments in local transit, bike and pedestrian routes, and job training, to create a connected community.

Erika Bumgardner, the deputy community development director for the City of Woodland, shared, “Projects like Tupelo can be a catalyst for broader neighborhood improvements,” and can “strengthen the local economy by creating construction and ongoing property management jobs.” Affordable housing in established neighborhoods can also make it easier for local employers to retain workers who want to live close to their jobs, she added. The Yolo County Workforce Innovation Board and Northern California Construction Training have committed to offering workforce development and job training to members of the community as part of the project.

But wait, there’s more! When residents move in, they will receive free bus passes for 15-years provided by YoloTD. “We want to increase ridership for those who may be more transit dependent,” said Lola Torney, senior transportation planner for YoloTD, “We want to make sure they have more access to Yolo County and also the larger region.”

Residents will enjoy riding on one of the new emission-free buses, they will have access to increased service times, and they even get to wait at new shelters and bus benches included as part of the funding for the project.

Cross-Agency Coordination That Powered Tupelo

To be competitive in the AHSC grant program, a project must show how it will maximize funding and create a community, not only housing.

“This is probably like the most complicated funding source at the state level,” said Evans, “If you're trying to put it together like a normal application, you're probably going to mess up; you're probably not going to have the relationships necessary.” The five organizations had been working collaboratively on the application for more than a year, each bringing a vision and elements to the project to make it complete.

"Because of the complicated nature of a project like this, and the complicated nature of a funding program like this, it took a lot of goodwill from partners every step of the way,” added Evans.

For Torney, the AHSC applications are one of her favorite grant programs, because they require collaboration. Through the process of identifying the best projects for the community and navigating multiple levels of planning codes and regulations, Torney said she gained more respect for the work that other agencies do.

Tupelo is just one piece of the larger plan to uplift and reinvest in Yolo County. It was designed and implemented in the Yolo Way, a strategy of cooperation, open mindedness, and community input. Tupelo’s success acts as an example for the broader Sacramento region and signifies more than smart infill development planning. It also represents the vast potential of interagency and community collaboration to make the region safer, more affordable, and more accessible. The partnerships forged by the Tupelo project will continue to serve the community and build its future for years to come.