Canal Alliance, the San Rafael nonprofit that has served Marin's immigrant community for more than 40 years, has bought a four-unit property at 1340-1342 Lincoln Ave. for $1.675 million. It is buying existing apartments to keep low-income families from being displaced.
“We are focused on preservation to prevent displacement,” spokesperson Isabel French told the Marin IJ. The group looks for buildings that already house low-income families and rarely has vacancies.
A fund built for speed
The purchase was backed by the nonprofit's new Rapid Acquisition Resource Pool. The San Francisco Foundation seeded the pool with a $2 million program-related investment from its Bay Area Community Impact Fund, and a donor added $500,000. Canal Alliance hopes to grow the fund to about $10 million. The idea is to buy a building quickly when it goes up for sale, then line up permanent public or private financing later. As those loans are repaid, the money goes back into the pool.
“Having these funds readily available helps Canal Alliance compete with other investors and close on a faster timeline — an advantage sellers often prefer,” said Karen Rodriguez, the group's chief financial officer.
The goal: 100 homes by 2028
Canal Alliance now owns 25 apartments, including the 12-unit Marin Villa Estates on Novato Street. Since 2024 it has spent about $4.8 million on 13 apartments. San Rafael has contributed $450,000 from its affordable housing trust fund over five years. Alexis Captanian, the city's housing program manager, said preserving existing units usually costs less per home than building new ones.