Berkeley OKs spending $53M on affordable housing projects at BART stations

The city of Berkeley is about to make the biggest affordable housing investment in city history. 

On Tuesday night, the city council voted to spend $53 million to develop hundreds of new affordable homes at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations.
 

The projects will also include open space and community amenities.
 

About $40 million dollars comes from Measure O bond funds approved by voters three years ago.

BART leaders are excited about the project's approval.

Bart board vice president Rebecca Saltzman tweeted: "This is the leadership we need throughout the bay area and especially near transit to solve our housing crisis."

She added that BART has a goal of building 7,000 affordable homes on its property by 2040, but that the agency needs strong partnerships to get the job done.