Large affordable apartment building under construction on busy Folsom commercial corridor

A new affordable housing apartment building is nearing completion in Folsom.

The Sage at Folsom community is under construction near the corner of Scholar Way and East Bidwell Street, close to Broadstone Plaza and the Palladio Shopping Center.

USA Properties Fund is building the 111-unit apartment complex and expects to finish the $32 million project in the first few months of 2023.

Folsom has one of the most severe affordable housing shortages in the Sacramento region.

The average rent in Folsom for a one-bedroom unit is $2,315, behind only Rocklin in the region, according to new data from Rent.com. Two-bedroom homes typically rent for more than $2,700. According to an assessment by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the city needs to add more than 3,500 units of housing affordable to very low- and low-income earners this decade.

The city of Folsom provided a $2.75 million loan from its housing fund to USA Properties for the Sage at Folsom project.

The developers of the project are marketing its location, along one of Folsom’s busiest commercial corridors and close to Folsom Lake College. “It’s a market rate location for an affordable community,” said Gabe Gardner of USA Properties.

Seniors earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income will be eligible for apartments in the new building; that comes out to annual incomes of between $19,000 and $51,000.

The complex will have electrical vehicle charging stations, a clubhouse, a health and wellness center, a bocce court, garden and a dog park.