2009-01-01 LEED Developer First Housing Community Appoints Westlake As Manager of Sunnyvale Apartments

AMO®-Accredited Westlake Realty Group Chosen to Manage Sunnyvale's Orchard Gardens Apartment Complex

San Mateo, Calif. – January 1, 2009 – Westlake Realty Group, Inc., an AMO®-accredited property management company, today announced that it has recently been selected to manage the Orchard Gardens complex in Sunnyvale. This affordable housing development of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments is conveniently located near Orchard Gardens Park and Route 237, east of Route 101.

Orchard Gardens was built in 1999 by San Jose-based First Community Housing (FCH), an award-winning non-profit housing firm. Construction was financed with tax credits, HOME funds, which are HUD loans through the City of Sunnyvale, and County of Santa Clara funds. FCH projects have been widely recognized for excellence in design and sustainability. The company's Gish Apartments is California's first multi-family housing project to earn the LEED™ for HOMES Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

"Westlake is very pleased to be entrusted by FCH with the management of Orchard Gardens," said Steven McDonald, vice president and general manager, residential properties. "We believe that this opportunity is the result of the high caliber property management services we are providing at the company's Villa Montgomery complex in Redwood City. Westlake and FCH are ‘on the same page' when it comes to property management practices and a dedication to green living principles. We look forward to working with FCH and serving Orchard Garden's tenants going forward.”

A beautifully-landscaped, multi-building development, Orchard Gardens is comprised of 62 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments located at 247 West Weddell Drive in Sunnyvale. Each unit is wired for Internet access. The complex features ample parking and laundry facilities as well as onsite management and maintenance.

About First Community Housing (FCH)

Founded in 1986 by David Neale and John Brezzo of San Jose, FCH is a designer, developer, and manager of affordable housing. Since its founding, the company has developed housing for more than 1000 households with another 600 units in production. FCH incorporates green building materials in its designs and has been featured in numerous green building journals as well as the AIA Memo and Global Green USA Case Study. Among other projects, FCH develops family, senior, and workforce housing, mixed-use properties, urban infill units and studio apartments. For more information, visit www.firsthousing.org