87 East Evelyn
In Design
87 E Evelyn Ave, Mountain View, CA 94041
Project Overview
• Project Type: 100% Affordable
• Owner/Developer: Affirmed Housing
• Presented to our members: December 2024
Catalyze SV evaluates project sustainability, equity, and vibrancy. Learn about our project review process.
87 East Evelyn Project Scorecard
87 East Evelyn is a 100%, 268-unit affordable housing project composed of one 7-story and one 13-story building on a 2-acre city-owned site. The project is split into 2 phases and has a combined density of 128 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). Phase 1 construction includes a 7-story, 161-unit building, while phase 2 consists of a 13-story, 107-unit, mass-timber building. Residents will have access to 140 parking spaces for their cars and two sizeable long-term bicycle rooms. Other resident amenities include a shared 3rd-floor courtyard, a fenced playground, and a 7,000 sq. ft. child daycare facility.
87 East Evelyn scored an overall 4.33 out of 5 from our Project Advocacy Committee members.

Community Score: 3/5
Affirmed has held one community meeting so far, which is a good start despite the meeting’s low attendance. Our members also appreciate how closely Affirmed is working with partner organizations. However, since 87 East Evelyn Ave. utilizes public land, our members want to see community engagement that goes well beyond the usual standard. We want Affirmed to reach out to the wider city and connect with community organizations and leaders to drive a higher turnout to future meetings. Mountain View has a number of fantastic community groups that would embrace this project, so we urge you to connect with them.

Vibrancy Score: 4/5
87 East Evelyn Ave. will foster a vibrant streetscape by providing a public plaza, 3,150 sq. ft. of community space, an enclosed playground, a 7,000 sq. ft. daycare facility, a community food pantry, a variety of ongoing programming from partner organizations, and design elements like ground floor stoops. Our members commend Affirmed and the project architect for the pedestrian-oriented design elements, such as the paseo and roof overhangs. The food pantry is a particularly innovative idea that is well-suited to affordable housing. We encourage Affirmed to promote this pantry in the broader community as a place where neighbors can donate food items to make the pantry a success. Members recommend including an art element within the paseo and sheltered seating areas for casual meetings or hangouts.

Transportation Score: 4
This project will benefit greatly from its transit-rich setting. Within half a mile, residents will have access to VTA’s Orange Line, several local bus routes, and Caltrain’s Mountain View Station. To encourage transit ridership, our members recommend Affirmed reach out to VTA regarding its SmartPass program. Additionally, it’s important to support residents by providing them with knowledge regarding their transit options. Members recommend installing digital wayfinding signage that gives residents live updates on bus and train schedules, which we’re seeing more of over time. As proposed, 87 East Evelyn Ave. itself will provide two large, long-term bicycle storage facilities and 140 spaces for car parking, or 0.52 spaces per unit. Residents will also have access to car-sharing through several ZipCar vehicles that will be shared between this project and the adjacent Charities Housing project. This is an all-too-rare offering in development that our members applaud. While our members appreciate the low parking ratio, given the robust car-sharing system and the other transit-friendly conditions of the site and project, we believe 87 East Evelyn Ave. should aim for an even lower car parking ratio. If the number of spaces can’t be reduced further at this time, our members encourage Affirmed to design adaptive parking spaces that can be easily converted to other uses at a later date.

Intensity/Zoning Score: 5/5
Clocking in at 128 dwelling units per acre, 87 East Evelyn Ave. is one of the denser affordable housing projects our members have had the chance to review. This is particularly impressive in a smaller city like Mountain View. And no matter how many times Catalyze SV says it, it’s worth repeating: in this current market and in suburban Silicon Valley, higher densities mean more homes for more people, and that is what our region needs to solve the housing shortage. Our members offer only praise for this aspect of the project.

Sustainability Score: 5
87 East Evelyn Ave. runs the gamut of green building features: rooftop solar, heat pumps, energy-efficient electric appliances, and drought-tolerant landscaping. However, one element of this project stands out to our members—its building material. Phase two’s 13-story tower will be constructed using mass timber, an emerging low-emission alternative to steel and concrete. Mass timber is a type of engineered wood that is very different from the timber regularly used to build homes. It has significant environmental benefits compared to traditional concrete construction. Building with mass timber components is also faster (and potentially cheaper), resulting in less noise for residents and waste material. Our members are excited to see 87 East Evelyn Ave. hopefully become the first mass timber building in the South Bay.

Affordability Score: 5/5
Our members commend Affirmed Housing for bringing forward another outstanding 100% affordable housing project. 87 East Evelyn Ave. will create 268 desperately needed homes for households earning 30-60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Affirmed also proposes an onsite daycare and a community partnership with Kids Konnect to provide affordable childcare to residents. The unit mix also reflects a commitment to accommodating larger households and families by providing 70 3-bedroom and 71 2-bedroom units. To improve upon an already great project, our members encourage Affirmed to aim for an average household AMI of 45% for this project.

Legacy Score: N/A
Members of Catalyze SV did not find our Legacy category applicable to this site.