The 180-apartment community is named after a former senior executive and affordable housing advocate with USA Properties Fund
USA Properties Fund will begin construction on The Steven, a much-needed affordable apartment community for 55-and-over residents – and a leap forward for a high-profile development near Sierra College in Rocklin.
The Steven – located at 4930 Rocklin Road, just north of Sierra College Boulevard – is part of College Park, a 108-acre development of apartments, condominiums and single-family homes surrounded by parks, trails and open space.
“Sierra College is excited to see College Park move forward from vision to reality,” said Willy Duncan, President of Sierra College. “After years of thoughtful planning and community dialogue, the College Park plan takes a balanced approach to providing housing options, shopping, recreation and natural conservation – all designed to leverage connections with the Sierra College campus. The Steven will help provide much-needed affordable housing for seniors in our community, showcasing one of the important needs College Park will address.”
The Steven
The 180-apartment community will offer easy access to neighborhood shops, major shopping centers – Costco, Target and Walmart are 2 miles away – and dozens of restaurants. Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health hospitals and Westfield Galleria, the largest mall in the Sacramento region, are a short drive away in nearby Roseville.
“It’s a fast-growing area in a hard-to-beat location,” said Geoff Brown, President of USA Properties Fund. “The College Park development, from the housing to the parks and trails, will truly elevate the neighborhood around Sierra College and the entire community.”
Construction should be completed in early 2028.
‘This project stands as a lasting tribute’
The Steven is named in honor of Steven Gall, a longtime Executive Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for USA Properties Fund and an affordable housing advocate. Gall was instrumental in developing many of the company’s 90 affordable apartment communities – including 35 in the Sacramento region – in California, Nevada and Oregon.
Gall, one of the company’s first employees, retired in December 2024. He passed away unexpectedly three months later.
“The Steven is a very appropriate and fitting way to honor Steve,” said Brown, a close friend and longtime colleague of Gall. “Steve was always a champion for affordable housing and committed to ensuring quality homes for low-income residents. Developing affordable housing was so much more than his career, it was Steve’s passion and this was one of the last projects that Steve worked on.”
The Steven will include an outdoor plaque and indoor art wall detailing Gall’s optimistic outlook and his many contributions to the company – and the community. The Steven was one of the final projects started by Gall before he retired.
“We mark a profound milestone as we break ground on this affordable housing development, dedicated to the memory of Steve Gall,” said Recinda Shafer, Deputy Executive Director of Riverside Charitable Corporation. The company is a partner on the project. “This project stands as a lasting tribute to his lifelong commitment to the affordable housing industry and the countless families he championed. We are deeply honored to celebrate and remember Steve’s underlying legacy.”
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The Steven groundbreaking celebration
More than 75 people, from community leaders and company executives and employees to the family of Steve Gall attended the event June 17.
The Steven is possible thanks to a public-private partnership
The Steven is one of the first developments in College Park, a partnership between Sierra College – a community college with about 9,700 students enrolled at the Rocklin campus – Evergreen Sierra LLC and Cresleigh Homes, a leading homebuilder with many well-known subdivisions in south Placer County.
“We are pleased to see continued investment in housing options that support residents at every stage of life,” said Rocklin Mayor David Bass. “The Steven will provide quality housing for older adults in a location that offers convenient access to shopping, services, transportation and community amenities, helping strengthen connections and enhance the quality of life for Rocklin seniors.”
The Steven is possible thanks to a public-private partnership that includes the City of Rocklin, Sierra College, Cresleigh Homes, Cole Partners Development Company, Merchants Capital and WNC Inc. The Rocklin City Council unanimously approved a $2.23 million low-interest loan for the project in May.
“The Steven marks our first opportunity to participate in the financing of a USA Properties Fund development,” said Peter Nichol, Senior Vice President for Merchants Capital. “Although I joined the project after Steven’s retirement, I’ve gained a deep appreciation of who he was through many colleagues and partners who have shared their experiences working alongside him to create housing in Rocklin and communities across California.”
The $39.8 million apartment community will help address the critical shortage of affordable housing in south Placer County, where several thousand more apartments are needed for low-income residents, according to the California Housing Partnership.
“Steve was always a champion for affordable housing and committed to ensuring quality homes for low-income residents. Developing affordable housing was so much more than his career, it was Steve’s passion and this was one of the last projects that Steve worked on.”
Geoff Brown, President of USA Properties Fund
Many low-income renters, especially seniors, cannot find affordable housing in the community, forcing them to commute to work from outside the area or live in market-rate apartment communities and pay much higher rent, creating an ongoing financial hardship. More than half of renters are considered cost-burdened, spending at least 30% of their income on housing in Placer County, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
The Steven is available to households that earn 30% to 70% of the area median income for Placer County, about $27,600 for one person at the 30% income level to almost $92,000 for a four-person household at the 70% mark.
Rents will range from about $739 for a one-bedroom apartment to a maximum of $2,070 for a two-bedroom unit, significantly less than nearby market-rate properties. Income limits and rents will likely increase slightly before leasing starts late next year.
‘His dedication and legacy carry on’
The Steven will be an affordable but amenities-rich community, including a clubhouse with a hospitality kitchen, a computer room, fitness room, a heated pool, courtyards with barbecues and eating areas, and a pet park.
Apartments will include energy-efficient appliances; low-flow sinks, showers and toilets; vinyl-plank flooring in living areas; and carpet in the bedrooms. The Steven will have 116 one-bedroom apartments and 64 two-bedroom units.
The Steven will be the second affordable apartment community for USA Properties in Rocklin, after completing Terracina at Whitney Ranch in late 2024. A third affordable apartment community will start construction in the next few months near Highway 65 and Sunset Boulevard in Rocklin.
The company has two affordable apartment communities in nearby Roseville – Terracina at Winding Creek and Vintage Square at Westpark in west Roseville – with another opening in the next few months. USA Properties has almost 40 apartment communities in the Sacramento region, from Auburn to Woodland.
The Roseville-based company has 90 apartment communities in California, Nevada and Oregon.
The company completed about 1,300 affordable units in 2025, the most of any California-based developer, according to an Affordable Housing Finance Report released in May.
The company started 410 affordable units in 2025, with hundreds more slated this year, including The Steven.
“I’ve had the chance to attend dozens of groundbreakings and grand openings with Steve, and he was always the friendliest and happiest person there,” said Gregory Hand, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations for WNC. The Steven is the 27th project for WNC with USA Properties Fund. “I know that Steve will be with us in spirit when we pose for photos for The Steven, shovel in hand and with an even bigger smile than usual as his dedication and legacy carry on.”