Atchison Village is a community in Richmond, California which was originally built as housing for defense workers from the Kaiser Shipyards. It lies at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m). Constructed by the Richmond Housing Authority in 1941 as Richmond's first public defense housing project, it is the only project funded by the Lanham Community Facilities Act that still exists in Richmond and one of the few in the nation not destroyed after the war. It is one of 20 public housing projects built in Richmond before and during World War II. The village was sold by the government to its residents for $1,512,00.00 February 28th, 1957, (Quit Claim Deed CCC Recorder; liber 2939 page 339) remaining mutual housing to this day under the name of the Atchison Village Mutual Homes Corporation.Currently, the village is valued at approximately $17 million as of January 2007. It is covered under Proposition 13 as a single unsold parcel, thus limiting tax increases to 2%.DescriptionAtchison Village includes 450 apartments of five styles in 97 one-story buildings and 65 two-story buildings. Every unit has ground level access both front and back and fenceable backyards. Each unit has a dedicated parking space and there is ample on-street parking near each unit on the public streets.As of May 2012, units cost from $30,000 to $70,000. They are relatively unaffected by the housing bubble or foreclosures, since share certificates cannot be liened. The low prices may be due to the fact that title to the property is not transferred, but only the occupancy or use rights in the dwelling, making it difficult to take out a loan to buy a Right to Perpetual Use. However, the Atchison Village Credit Union may lend a significant sum against the purchase if the buyer has a co-signer with real property in California.
