November 30, 2017
San Diego Housing Commission Partnership Development Will Provide 84 Affordable Rental Apartments with Supportive Services for Homeless Veterans
The rental housing units at Zephyr will remain affordable for 55 years
SAN DIEGO, CA – A former motel near Mission Valley will be rehabilitated and converted into 84 new affordable rental apartments for homeless Veterans, with supportive services provided on-site, through a San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) partnership development known as Zephyr, which celebrated its groundbreaking today.
“Together, we are jumping in with both feet, making it easier to bring these units to the market and to provide a place for people to call home,” San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer said. “This is exactly the type of project that will house the Veterans who will be staying at our transitional bridge shelters that will open up in just a few weeks.”
SDHC is partnering with the developer, Affirmed Housing Group, on the rehabilitation and reconfiguration of the former motel located just north of Interstate 8 at 4370 Alvarado Canyon Road, within walking distance to the Grantville Station trolley and bus stops, as well as nearby shopping and medical centers.
“First and foremost, it provides housing and services for our homeless Veterans. I mean these people stepped up, and they served when we asked them to and provided the very blanket of freedom that we enjoy every day. So when they are asking for our help, it’s our duty to step up and serve, and I think that’s what this project does,” said City Councilmember Scott Sherman, who represents the district in which Zephyr is located.
Through HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO, SDHC’s homelessness action plan, SDHC awarded a $3 million loan toward the Zephyr development and 84 federal rental housing vouchers that will help formerly homeless Veterans pay their rent at Zephyr.
“This development is a great example of the kind of innovation and collaboration that is needed to create additional permanent supportive housing to address homelessness in the City of San Diego,” SDHC Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer Debbie Ruane said.
SDHC’s loan consists of $2.9 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds, awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the City of San Diego and administered by SDHC, and $100,000 from the City of San Diego’s Affordable Housing Fund, also administered by SDHC.
The Federal vouchers that SDHC awarded are linked to the rental housing units at Zephyr. When a resident moves out, the voucher will remain with the unit to help another homeless Veteran obtain a path off the streets.
The rental apartments at Zephyr will remain affordable for 55 years for homeless Veterans with income up to 40 percent of the San Diego Area Median Income, which currently is $25,450 a year for a one-person household.
On-site supportive services will be provided by the local nonprofit PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) San Diego.
“Facing the challenges of homelessness, we have to think of better ways to get supply into the market,” said John Wurster, Senior Project Manager at Affirmed Housing Group. “I think that’s what’s important about this project. We’re trying something new.”
Zephyr also is one of the first developments in San Diego to receive funds awarded by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) through Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention (VHHP) Program – approximately $6.3 million toward the total development cost of $27.2 million.
John Nunn, HCD’s Program Manager for VHHP, and Sean Johnson, VHHP Manager for the California Department of Veterans Affairs, also participated in today’s groundbreaking ceremony.
The rental apartments at Zephyr are among more than 400 permanent supportive housing units being created with funding and vouchers awarded by SDHC in the first three years of HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO (2014 – 2017).
In the next three fiscal years (2018 – 2020), SDHC will award up to another $30 million toward the development of 300 additional permanent supportive housing units through HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO.
HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO is rooted in the national “Housing First” model of addressing homelessness – to provide housing as quickly as possible, with supportive services as needed.
Zephyr is expected to be completed in 10-12 months.
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Updated December 1, 2017
Media Contact:
Scott Marshall
Vice President of Communications
San Diego Housing Commission
(619) 578-7138
scottm@sdhc.org
