Affordable Housing Developments Get $24 Million Boost
City Affordable Housing Funds and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits Help Developments Move Forward

SAN DIEGO - Several affordable housing developments, designed for seniors and families, are moving forward thanks to an infusion of funds from significant low-income housing tax credits and Redevelopment Agency funds from the City of San Diego.

The latest development in the quest to help build more affordable housing came last week when the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to approve up to $4 million in Redevelopment Agency funds to purchase land in the Chollas View neighborhood of San Diego. The largely vacant 9.43-acre site, located at Hilltop Drive and Euclid Avenue, is currently being considered for the development of both for-sale and rental housing with an affordable component. The land falls within the boundaries of the Central Imperial Redevelopment Project Area which is managed by the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation, a division of the Redevelopment Agency.

"The City of San Diego offers a variety of tools and subsidies which are crucial to motivate developers to build more affordable housing," said Hank Cunningham, assistant executive director of the City's Redevelopment Agency and director of the City's Community and Economic Development Department. "Purchasing this land while it is still a bargain maximizes our ability to stretch affordable housing funds and facilitate an eventual development."

Last week's Council action follows positive news from the state last month that two other San Diego developments will receive approximately $20 million through crucial federal low-income housing tax credits allocated by the state. The Talmadge Senior Village and Lillian Place developments, which earlier in the year received City funding commitments from the Redevelopment Agency and the Housing Commission, received the coveted tax credits. Competition is fierce for the limited tax credits, a situation that is exacerbated by the increased need for affordable housing subsidies throughout California. Both projects are expected to break ground in November.

The proposed three-story Talmadge Senior Village mixed-use project, which is within the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area boundaries, will replace a converted motel at 5252 El Cajon Boulevard. The new development will offer 91 housing units, 90 of which would be rented for 55 years at rates affordable to very low income senior citizens. The remaining unit is reserved for an on-site manager. Also included in the project are 3,362 square feet of commercial space to front on El Cajon Boulevard, a 618 square feet leasing office, a 1,573 square feet community activity room and 91 underground parking spaces. Ken-Tal Senior Partners, LP, a development team comprised of the Southern California Housing Development Corporation and the San Diego Community Housing Corporation, will construct Talmadge Senior Village in partnership with the City's Redevelopment Agency (through the Community and Economic Development Department).

"We are thrilled that we were successful in lining up the funding needed to proceed with our project," said John Seymour, director of acquisitions and forward planning for the Southern California Housing Development Corporation, development partner of the Talmadge Senior Village development. "We're looking forward to breaking ground."

Lillian Place is a proposed 74-unit for rent affordable housing development for low to moderate income families. Lillian Place will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units and is designed for families with children. The 75,646 square-foot project footprint will be built on a 36,000 square-foot site located in Downtown's East Village. The development will also include a learning center/computer room, tot lot, open space garden area, and 75 underground parking spaces. Lillian Place will be comprised of three- and four-story buildings. The project's developer will rehabilitate and incorporate a two-story historic structure that will ensure the preservation of a piece of San Diego's African-American history.

The development, designed by Studio E Architects, will be built by the team of Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation and San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation in partnership with the Centre City Development Corporation, a division of the City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency. The project is named after Ms. Lillian Grant, a prominent African-American businesswoman and property owner in the area. Her former property has been deemed historically significant by the Historical Resources Board and will be commemorated within the project.

"These tax credits, along with the funding committed by the City, are critical for the development of affordable housing due to skyrocketing land and construction costs," said Ken Sauder, executive director of Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation. "Lillian Place is a beautifully designed complex that will provide much-needed affordable housing for families living downtown."

In other affordable housing news, the City issued a $2 million check from the Redevelopment Agency Affordable Housing Program to the San Diego Rescue Mission for a forgivable loan to support the Harbor View Project, a transitional housing facility located at 120 Elm Street in San Diego's Uptown district. In addition to City funding, another $20 million will be leveraged from other public and private sources for the revitalization of the former Harbor View Hospital. The refurbished facility will serve to consolidate activities and operations undertaken by the San Diego Rescue Mission and provide a host of housing and treatment facilities for San Diegans in desperate need of assistance. A grand opening of the new facility is expected this fall.

Developer interest is increasing in the City of San Diego's Redevelopment Agency Affordable Housing Program, creating a growing list of proposed projects that will create more affordable housing opportunities for San Diego residents. Overall, the Redevelopment Agency has approved more than $15 million in funding for four new developments that will create 381 new affordable housing units. There are nine additional applications in the pipeline, representing 809 more affordable housing units throughout the City. These nine proposed projects are located in Barrio Logan (four projects), City Heights, Downtown, North Park and Uptown. If approved, these projects could receive redevelopment subsidies of more than $60 million combined.

The goal of the City's Redevelopment Affordable Housing Program is to increase the City's affordable housing inventory for very low- and low-income households, to assist people with moderate-income levels achieve homeownership and, on a case-by-case basis, to acquire and rehabilitate existing properties. Proposals may be for residential or mixed-use developments; housing that is all low-income or is mixed-income; multi- or single-family dwelling units or a combination thereof; and rental or for-sale units. The collaboration of the Redevelopment Agency (which includes the City's Redevelopment Division of the Community and Economic Development Department, the Centre City Development Corporation and the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation) and the San Diego Housing Commission was developed to combine resources to carry out the City's comprehensive affordable housing strategy.

In addition to new housing funded by this program, the City of San Diego, through its Housing Commission, Redevelopment Agency and several City departments, is supporting many other affordable housing developments. Since 1992, the City has facilitated the creation of more than 13,000 affordable housing units. An additional 1,700 units are in the pipeline due to ongoing efforts and the creation of innovative new programs to help fund more housing.

Affordable Housing Contact Information:

Hilltop and Euclid Potential Housing Development: contact the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation at (619) 527-7345
Talmadge Senior Village: contact the Southern California Housing Development Corporation at (877) 273-RENT (7368)
Lillian Place: contact San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation at 619) 231-0288, ext. 201
Harbor View: contact the San Diego Rescue Mission at (619) 687-3720 or visit www.sdrescue.org
Redevelopment Agency Affordable Housing Program: contact the Community and Economic Development Department at (619) 533-4233 or email AffordableHousingNOFA@sandiego.gov

Additional affordable housing information is available on the City's new comprehensive affordable housing web page located at www.sandiego.gov (type "affordable housing" in the search field).

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The City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency eliminates blight from designated areas, as well as achieves the goals of development, reconstruction and rehabilitation of residential, commercial, industrial, and retail districts. Redevelopment is one of the most effective ways to breathe new life into deteriorated areas plagued by social, physical, environmental or economic conditions that act as a barrier to new investment by private enterprise. The City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency consists of three divisions: the City Redevelopment Division (which provides overall agency management and is housed in the City of San Diego Community and Economic Development Department), the Centre City Development Corporation and the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation.