Project Architect: KTGY Group

California's First Housing Community For Teachers

	Landscape Architect: The Guzzardo Partnership

Casa del Maestro is the first faculty housing community built for a public school district in the State of California. This apartment community was commissioned by the Santa Clara Unified School District to address an alarming increase in teacher attrition due to prohibitively priced housing, and to assist in recruiting and retaining new teachers in an area with a high cost of living. Although its rents are less than one-half of market rental rates, Casa del Maestro is comparable in quality to most newly built luxury apartments in Silicon Valley. All units have private attached garage parking (most with direct access), large floor plans, central heat and air conditioning, washer/dryers, and generous patios or balconies. The award-winning architecture evokes the Victorian-era buildings of the Presidio, sited on a central green that leads to a well-appointed clubhouse.

Project Architect: KTGY Group

Interior Design: Boo Boero

Thompson|Dorfman was chosen through an RFP process to provide full development services to the District for the construction of Casa del Maestro. These services included financial analysis, concept design and programming, entitlement, permitting, and construction. As a design/build contractor, Thompson|Dorfman selected, contracted, and managed a team of qualified professionals to execute this project. Although this type of development is typically the domain of non-profit developers, Thompson|Dorfman brought a unique understanding of the target resident and product quality desired by the District. Specifically, SCUSD sought to create high-quality architecture to dispel the fears of faculty and the surrounding neighbors that it was creating a project, while designing and building the community on a fixed budget. An overwhelming response resulted in a lottery with more than 100 teachers vying for the 40 available units upon its completion in April 2002. Due to the success of Casa del Maestro, over two dozen school districts throughout California are considering similar initiatives based on this prototype.