Standard Communities Starts Two Antioch Projects at Under $500,000 per Unit

Standard Communities has broken ground on two affordable apartment communities in Antioch, California, at less than $500,000 per unit, without state or local subsidies. Multifamily Dive reported the groundbreaking, citing chief development officer Feras Qumseya, who said the figure is significantly below the typical price.

Inside the Antioch Joyfield Projects

The two developments are part of the Los Angeles-headquartered developer's Joyfield Living workforce housing platform, which is aimed at middle-income workers such as teachers, police officers, nurses and line cooks, according to Qumseya. Joyfield Flats at Lakeview Center will have 233 apartments across seven buildings, while Joyfield Flats at Buchanan Crossing is designed with 195 units across six buildings.

Qumseya said Joyfield is Standard's "really huge, very ambitious initiative" to build affordable housing affordably, with very limited reliance on gap funding. The firm holds down development costs by standardizing its design process.

"We wanted to standardize a product that feels like a market-rate, that breathes like a market-rate, that just happens to be affordable, and we wanted people to recognize when they go from a Joyfield community to another Joyfield community," Qumseya said. "Similar to how you walk into a Hilton or you walk into a Marriott, you recognize the place."

Standard iterates on the base design to fit each location, Qumseya said. Typical amenities include a playground, walking trails, a business center and co-working space and a gym, and the units have 9-foot ceilings and stainless steel appliances.

Standard Communities' Scale and Partnerships

Standard Communities is a U.S. affordable and workforce housing investor and developer that acquires, rehabilitates and develops mixed-income residential communities across 22 or more states, according to akta.pro company records. The same records list total assets under management exceeding $6 billion, a portfolio of 28,000 or more residential units across 195 or more properties, and more than 75,000 residents served.

In August 2021, Standard Communities and Faring formed a joint venture, Standard-Faring Essential Housing, to create over $2 billion of missing-middle housing throughout California over 18-24 months, the records show. In September 2024, the company partnered with River Caddis Development for its first investment in Michigan, a ground-up affordable community in Kalamazoo.

Earlier Joyfield Groundbreakings

Standard Communities broke ground on Joyfield Towns at German School, an $88 million development in Richmond, Virginia, delivering 234 affordable townhomes, FinancialContent Business Page reported in October 2026. In September 2026, Stanford Carr Development and Standard Communities launched a $78 million affordable rental project in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, American City Business Journals reported; the Kaleimao Village development will provide 126 units, with construction expected to be complete by the end of October 2026. Standard Communities also broke ground on Joyfield Rise at Woodward, a four-story, 141-unit affordable housing project at Camp North End, American City Business Journals reported in August 2026.

Antioch's Permitting Path

Antioch previously identified commercial areas where it wants housing and designated projects there as commercial infill housing, Qumseya said. "If you meet their design criteria, you have a streamlined path towards entitlement and approval," he said. "So from the minute that we were able to find the site 'til the minute we actually started construction, that was 16 months, which in California, really almost anywhere, is almost unheard of."