HAC-Ed Highlight: Alameda County's SHIFT Program

HAC ED
Written By Gabrielle Blavatsky

California's missing middle housing gap isn't just a policy problem — it's a financing and implementation problem. At this HAC-Ed, we heard from the team working to tackle all three at once.

Aaron Tiedemann, Manager for the SHIFT Pilot at Alameda County HCD, was joined by Anamika Goyal and Carrie Diller of Inspired ADUs, the Oakland-based architecture firm serving as the program's design consultants. Together, they walked us through the county's newly launched SHIFT program — what it is, how it works, and how developers can get involved.

Aaron Tiedemann | Alameda County HCDWhy SHIFT, and What It's Trying to Do

Despite significant public investment in affordable housing over the past decade, the number of lower-income households paying more than they can afford for rent has barely budged — and in some income bands, has actually increased. Alameda County, like most of California, has also fallen well short of its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) targets, especially in the lower- and moderate-income categories. The only place production has kept pace is above-moderate (market rate), which isn't serving the households most at risk.

The traditional affordable housing model has real limitations that help explain that shortfall. Large tax-credit-financed projects (typically 60–120 units) require layered funding from multiple sources — federal, state, and local — a process that's uncertain, time-consuming, and expensive. Timelines stretch. Costs compound. And the pool of developers with the expertise to navigate it all stays narrow.

SHIFT — the Scalable Housing Infill Funding Toolkit — was designed to work around those barriers. The program focuses on smaller-footprint, infill development: 4 to 16 units on sites that are easier to access and build on, using a simplified financing structure and a public toolkit to reduce per-unit costs and timelines.

The three main components of SHIFT are:

1. A Public Toolkit — Pre-approved designs developed with Inspired ADUs, technical assistance on using state streamlining laws, feasibility tools, cost estimation, and procurement templates. Critically, this toolkit will be publicly available to anyone doing this type of small multifamily or infill development — not just participants in the funded programs.

2. The Missing Middle Development Pilot — Direct county financing for small affordable rental projects targeting 60–80% AMI (Area Median Income). Up to $150,000 per unit in soft debt, structured as a 30-year subordinate loan. Target development cost: under $600K per unit. Target project timeline: 12 to 24 months from inception to occupancy. A key design goal is to actively use California's newer streamlining laws — SB 684, AB 1123, AB 1211, and others — to cut approval timelines significantly. $7.5 million has been allocated for this pilot.

3. The Senior Age-in-Place ADU Pilot — A separate financing track for long-tenure senior homeowners who want to remain in their communities. The county provides subsidized financing and administers the lot split process; a pre-qualified developer builds a fully accessible two-bedroom ADU on the back lot; the senior moves into the ADU; and the original home is sold on the open market, with the proceeds repaying the construction loan and restoring most of the homeowner's equity. The program opens up housing in desirable neighborhoods for new families while keeping seniors rooted in the communities they've built.

Anamika Goyal & Carrie Diller | Inspired ADUsBuilding the Toolkit and the Developer Pool

One of the sharpest observations of the morning came from Anamika: there's historically a several-year lag between when major housing legislation passes at the state level and when it actually shows up in practice at the local level. Part of SHIFT's value proposition is closing that gap — by providing education not just to developers, but also to city planning staff who may not yet have seen these new laws applied in a real project.

Inspired ADUs is currently doing three things in parallel: consulting with Alameda County HCD to develop the toolkit itself; building a database of publicly-owned vacant parcels across the county and running preliminary feasibility analysis to identify the best candidates for SHIFT development; and talking to developers who have already navigated the new housing laws to learn firsthand where the entitlements process creates friction.

The toolkit is being built to be practical, not theoretical. As Carrie put it, their goal is to sit down with individual jurisdictions and, where possible, get specific hurdles waived or streamlined in the name of the program. Developer feedback is central to making sure the resources they produce actually move the needle.

What's Coming Up

The RFQ (Request for Qualifications) to form a pre-qualified developer pool launches next month — and it will remain open-ended, not time-limited, so new developers can join as the program grows. The team is explicitly building tiers to accommodate developers at different experience levels, from established multifamily developers to first-time builders. Nonprofits are not required; for-profit developers, partnerships, and emerging developer teams are all encouraged to apply.

In fall 2026, the county will release a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and a site-specific RFP, giving pre-qualified developers the opportunity to propose projects or bid on publicly-owned parcels. The Senior ADU pilot will launch participant intake around the same time, with first projects targeted for selection before year-end.

A few practical details from Q&A that are worth flagging:

  • Developers are not required to use the pre-approved plans from the toolkit — any architect works, as long as the project hits the target price point and affordability.

  • Project labor agreements and prevailing wage are not currently anticipated to be required on county funds.

  • The typical project exit involves the developer selling to a nonprofit operator at completion, who then runs the building as affordable rental housing — but the team noted openness to other structures, including developer-retained ownership with a third-party affordable management operator.

  • The public toolkit (parcel database, legislative education resources, feasibility tools) will be available to anyone, with no strings attached — including for developers who want to use the information without participating in the funded program.

The Opportunity

At HAC, we see SHIFT as a meaningful opening for the kinds of developers we've been working to support — including through our Developer Pathway Program — to build a track record in affordable housing without needing to navigate the full complexity of a tax-credit deal. The county has intentionally structured this to be accessible to a broader pool of participants, and they're actively looking for developer input to shape the toolkit while it's still being built.

HAC offered to help coordinate a group developer feedback workshop with the SHIFT team, so stay tuned for an opportunity to engage collectively. In the meantime, reach out directly:

To sign up for the Alameda County HCD developer listserv and be alerted when the RFQ and funding opportunities drop, sign up here.

For developers interested in providing feedback on the program design, please fill out this form: https://airtable.com/appsWJ7y0Uls1MYGX/shrUtFkC5nP3oQngX


Want to connect further or request topics you'd like to hear about at a future HAC-Ed? Reach Brianna Morales at brianna@housingactioncoalition.org.

Gabrielle Blavatsky
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