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After four years, the long-anticipated affordable and supportive housing project Willow Commons in Portola Valley is now open. On the weekend of June 7, the first residents of the housing complex moved in with their belongings, ready to live an independent life.
Willow Commons, located at 4388 Alpine Road, aims to provide adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with supportive housing that encourages social interaction, community and autonomy. The complex will house 16 tenants, eight of whom have already moved in.
The project was started by Portola Valley residents Jim and Patty White, who were inspired by their daughter Amy, who has a disability.
According to a study by the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration, 80% of adults with intellectual disabilities have no choice but to live with family, often with aging parents.
Willow Commons is designed to connect residents, with 40% of the square footage dedicated to community space. All buildings on the property face inward to bring people together, encouraging them to see each other and prevent residents from isolating themselves.
Patty White explained that one of the biggest issues that adults with intellectual disabilities face when living alone is being isolated, which can lead to more serious problems like depression.
“The whole idea of having a large building with community space and programming is that the community space offers them the social scaffolding to be in community with one another,” she said.
The main entrance to the property serves as the main hub for community gathering, with a large kitchen, dining room, multipurpose room and a soon to be coffee shop. Programming will include yoga, cooking classes, book groups, art and more.
Willow Commons offers a variety of one bedroom and two bedroom apartment units for residents. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi. 
Dining area for community gatherings at Willow Commons in Portola Valley. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi. 
Kitchen space in a two bedroom unit includes a washer and dryer at Willow Commons in Portola Valley. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi 
Community kitchen at Willow Commons will be a communal space where residents can gather for meals and cooking classes. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi.
The housing complex includes one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments fitted with a kitchen and bathroom. Units qualify as low-income housing which means all residents have to verify they are below 80% of the Area Median Income level. San Mateo County’s AMI is $104,400 for a single resident.
During an open house on June 6, visitors seemed impressed by the design of the complex. With muted colors and lots of trees and grass, the housing project blends well into the bucolic nature of Portola Valley.
Patty White said for many residents, Willow Commons will be their “home for life.” As part of the application process, potential tenants are interviewed by a panel of behavioralists, psychologists and individuals in service organizations. Applicants are also invited to join community events to see if they get along with other residents.
“We make sure that socially, everyone gets along well together and (can be) part of a well-functioning community,” she said.
Jim White hopes that the housing project will show that there are other ways to create supportive housing for intellectually disabled adults outside of group homes and care facilities. Across the Peninsula, group homes have declined between 10% to 15% over the past five years due to a weak staffing model and the high expenses to operate a facility.
“What we’re trying to show is you can do something slightly different with a small number of people,” said Jim White. “You can do some clever things from social dynamics, service efficiencies, service specialization and service redundancy.”
Through Willow Commons, he hopes to be able to produce data through studies that compare social happiness, engagement and other social metrics around working, school participation and family satisfaction.
The new housing complex is a community space for the residents but will also serve as a gathering space for the rest of town. By 2026, the Whites hope to open Common Grounds, a high-end coffee shop located at the corner of the property that will be open to the public and staffed by Willow Commons residents. The shop will be operated in a partnership with Santa Cruz-based coffee roaster Cat and Cloud and will serve as a vocational program for residents.
Although Willow Commons was initially expected to be completed in 2024, Portola Valley’s high staff turnover and staff shortages caused various delays for project permits, said Jim White. He said the town’s challenges “cost the project a million dollars and a year of lost time.”
Despite the delays, Jim and Patty White are excited for residents to make themselves at home at Willow Commons and are proud to complete an example of what affordable and supportive housing can look like in Portola Valley.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misnamed the daughter of Jim and Patty White.
