March 25, 2016
First-of-its-Kind Affordable Housing in Southern California for Families with Special Needs Opens in Lincoln Park
San Diego Housing Commission partnership development includes 25 units for households with at least one member who has a developmental disability
SAN DIEGO, CA – Independence Point Apartment Homes, the first residential complex in Southern California to provide affordable housing specifically for families with members who have developmental disabilities, commemorated its grand opening today in Lincoln Park.
“This is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time, helping me move forward with my life and giving my children a better life for the future,” said Agueda, one of the new residents at Independence Point, which has 31 affordable housing units.
Agueda, who lost her permanent home after her divorce, was living in a garage with her four children before she moved into the complex. Now, her three daughters have a solid base from which they can continue their schooling and her 5-year-old son Esteban, who has Down syndrome, can receive the supportive services he needs – including in-home care from the San Diego Regional Center, one of the partners of the complex.
“I’m excited and thrilled about what this means for the future of our neighborhoods,” said City Councilmember Myrtle Cole, who represents District 4, where the development is located. “It will offer new opportunities to members of our community who have been previously underserved.”
The newly constructed $13.5 million Independence Point was developed by Chelsea Investment Corporation in partnership with the Southern California Housing Collaborative (the Collaborative) and the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), which assisted with approximately 74 percent of the funding.
“The Housing Commission must not only serve the needs of the community, but needs to make sure that people with special needs within that community have their needs met as well,” said SDHC President & CEO Richard C. Gentry, who was also joined by SDHC Commissioner Kellee Hubbard at the grand opening.
Independence Point includes 28 rental townhomes and 3 apartment flats for low-income households and one manager’s unit. Twenty-five affordable housing units are set aside for households in which at least one member has a developmental disability, which includes cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and intellectual disabilities.
“We’ve done our very best to accommodate the needs of people with developmental disabilities,” said Jim Schmid, CEO of Chelsea Investment Corporation. “We’ll certainly do more of these projects in the future.”
Chelsea Investment Corporation is one of the top 20 developers of affordable multifamily housing across the nation according to the Affordable Housing Finance magazine’s website, www.housingfinance.com.
Located on one acre of formerly vacant land on South Willie James Jones Avenue, Independence Point will remain affordable for 55 years for families with maximum annual incomes ranging from 30 percent or less to 60 percent or less of the San Diego Area Median Income, or approximately $24,300 to $43,800 for a four-person household.
The Collaborative, a nonprofit organization in Kearny Mesa that locates and secures affordable housing opportunities for low-income individuals with developmental disabilities, will coordinate services to the residents through its network of vendors.
“This is not just a home. It is a life-changing experience. It’s very humbling to see,” said Mike McSweeney, Chairman of the Collaborative, whose brother has a development disability.
Supportive services for the residents with developmental disabilities will be provided both on-and off-site based on their individual needs, with the goal of helping them live as independently as possible.
Carlos Flores, executive director of the San Diego Regional Center, which provides supportive services to people with developmental disabilities, called the project “a dream come true.”
Calling it the first affordable housing development of its kind in Southern California, Flores said, “This is the beginning of serving people differently than we did in the past. We’re looking forward to even bigger things in the future.”
Independence Point features 27 three-bedroom rental townhomes, 1 four-bedroom rental townhome, and 3 fully accessible three-bedroom flats for low-income households, as well as 1 four-bedroom townhome for the on-site manager. Amenities include a clubhouse with computer lab, high-speed Internet access, classes in financial planning and English as a second language (ESL), private patios or balconies, and attached garages. An elementary school, high school, public park, trolley stop, grocery store, and retail shops are all nearby.
Independence Point, formerly known as Willie James Jones Apartments, is a $13.5 million development. SDHC authorized the issuance of $7.5 million in tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds toward the development of Independence Point. The San Diego City Council, sitting as the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego, approved the bonds.
SDHC also invested a $2.5 million loan to the development, funded with $2.2 million in federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds granted to the City of San Diego by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by SDHC, along with $300,000 from the City’s Housing Trust Fund, funded by the City’s Housing Impact Fee and administered by SDHC.
For more information about SDHC, visit www.sdhc.org.
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Media Contact:
Maria Velasquez
Sr. Vice President Communications & Legislative Affairs
619-578-7560
mariav@sdhc.org
