November 17, 2025
Grand Opening: Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing for Families at a New Development in City Heights
SAN DIEGO – A stylish, art-inspired development that blends seamlessly into a bustling City Heights neighborhood near transit now provides affordable rental homes for 64 families with low income, of which 32 families previously experienced homelessness.
“One of the things that we really believe in at the San Diego Housing Commission is not only developing affordable housing, but also preserving it,” San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) President and CEO Lisa Jones said at a recent grand opening celebration for the Serenade on 43rd development. “Preservation has been a key policy priority for the Commission, for our San Diego City Council and our Mayor for a number of years. What is wonderful about this project is it does both.”
Developed by Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation (Wakeland) and Housing Innovation Partners (HIP), Serenade on 43rd created more than 40 new affordable rental homes and rehabilitated 20 existing naturally occurring affordable housing units, adding requirements that they remain affordable for 55 years. There is also one unrestricted manager’s unit.
SDHC awarded 32 rental housing vouchers to help pay rent for residents who previously experienced homelessness. SDHC also supported the development with a $2 million loan, consisting of federal and local funds SDHC administers:
- $1.7 million in HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded to the City of San Diego
- $300,000 from the City’s Affordable Housing Fund.
“We’re coming down here a lot from Sacramento to celebrate milestones like Serenade, 65 units of deeply affordable housing for people who need it the most here in a very, very expensive place to live—San Diego,” said Director Gustavo Velasquez of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which contributed to the financing for Serenade on 43rd. “This is about partnerships with local jurisdictions across the state, and it’s about … policy transformation at the state level to work with jurisdictions that are pro-housing.”
Eligible households at Serenade on 43rd that experienced homelessness will receive supportive services from the County of San Diego.
“The County support of $6.4 million in No Place Like Home funds will ensure that formerly homeless people will have a safe, stable home,” said David Estrella, the County’s Director of Housing and Community Development Services. “This is braided with the County’s behavioral Health Services’ commitment to provide support for over 20 years of services.”
All units at the development will be affordable for San Diegans with annual income ranging from 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income, approximately $44,650 to $89,340 for a three-person household. The development consists of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Wakeland, in partnership with HIP, served as the lead developer, managing the entitlement phase, financing, design, and construction, and provides ongoing asset management and oversight of resident services at the property.
“Through this project, we were able to beautifully renovate the existing homes, put a regulatory agreement on them so they’ll stay affordable now in perpetuity, and build 45 new affordable homes to go with them,” Wakeland President & CEO Rebecca Louie said. “It’s an extraordinary accomplishment that requires so much celebrating.”
The property’s name was inspired by a song by San Diego Area-raised musician Tom Waits, and artistic flourishes big and small are included throughout the development, such as painted number placards with musical instruments on the doors and other signage, as well as three large murals in and outside the building, created by the nonprofit ArtReach San Diego.
“Wakeland and HIP share the same commitment, not only to serve our most vulnerable citizens, but to infuse that service with a sense of purpose, with the value of the person as well as to appreciate the importance of community, of art, music and culture. So, if you look around this neighborhood, to me, it embodies the spirit of San Diego, and we wanted this project to reflect that character and to truly be an asset to the City Heights community,” HIP Associate Director Jon Walters said. “We want people to drive down the street and go, ‘My gosh, that is a cool looking place. I want to live here.’”
The City of San Diego also provided a loan of up to $6.5 million to support the development.
The $40 million budget for Serenade on 43rd was funded by a mix of public and private sources, including the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, California Community Reinvestment Corporation and Wells Fargo Bank.
For more information about the development and to join the interest list for Serenade on 43rd, please visit serenadeon43rd.com
Connect with SDHC on social media:
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Media Contact:
Scott Marshall,
Vice President of Communications
San Diego Housing Commission
619-578-7138
scottm@sdhc.org
