April 14, 2026
Former Serra Mesa Library Site to Become Affordable Housing for Unhoused Veterans and Households with Low-Income
SDHC awarded 30 housing vouchers and a development loan to support the project
SAN DIEGO, CA — The long-vacant former site of a City of San Diego public library will be transformed into nearly 60 affordable rental apartments for families through the development of Serra Mesa Apartments, which celebrated its groundbreaking today. Half of the apartments will be set aside for veterans experiencing homelessness.
“I think this project is particularly poetic. It’s focused on veterans. Many of you know that Serra Mesa has long been home to many of our region’s military families. We have incredible military housing, literally across the street. Serra Mesa has long supported San Diego’s role as America’s premier military town,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “And so, the integration of this project that has this emphasis on veterans really is a continuation of the story of this great community.”
For 55 years, rents for the 59 affordable rental units at Serra Mesa Apartments will remain affordable for San Diegans with incomes ranging from 30 to 60 percent of the San Diego Area Median Income, up to $79,380 per year for a two-person household.
“When families don’t have to worry as much about affording their rent each month, they have a better chance to thrive by focusing more on their career, schooling, health and their family life,” said Colin Miller, SDHC’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development.
SDHC awarded 30 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Project-Based Housing Vouchers toward the development to assist eligible veterans, who will also receive on-site supportive services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System.
These VASH vouchers are tied directly to the development, so that when a resident moves on, the voucher remains at the site to help another eligible veteran family move into affordable rental housing.
SDHC also awarded a $2.5 million loan toward the development, consisting of federal and local funds that SDHC administers for the City of San Diego: the City of San Diego Affordable Housing Fund and federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The development is also part of the City’s Homes for All of Us Initiative to create housing for San Diegans of all income levels and includes a $4 million loan from the City of San Diego’s Bridge to Home program.
The development of the former library site, which sat vacant for 20 years, was also made possible by a 65-year land lease from the City of San Diego to the developer, Community HousingWorks (CHW).
“We are transforming this former library from one community asset to a different type of community asset in terms of providing affordable housing for folks most in need,” CHW President & CEO Sean Spear said. “And then we’re also transforming lives—the notion of being able to support residents, some of whom may be formerly homeless, and giving them not only a chance to really live comfortably in a well-built home, but also truly to thrive with the layering of services that we’re going to be providing for them for free.”
The VA will provide on-site services to veteran households, such as health and case management services, connections to health and food resources.
CHW will also provide on-site services for all residents of the community at no cost, which may include financial success training, multigenerational success and health and wellness programs and services.
The development will include 56 one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units, and one unrestricted two-bedroom manager’s unit.
The development will consist of a five-story building, including a 22-space parking garage on the first floor, along with a 1,012-square-foot community room space, a computer lab, laundry facilities. The second floor will have a 2,765-square-foot courtyard.
The Serra Mesa library closed in 2006, upon the opening of the Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa Branch Library on Aero Drive less than a mile away.
Nearby amenities include options for retail, transit, and parks as well as public schools, and the Kearny Mesa Veterans Affairs outpatient center, which is less than a quarter mile to the north on Aero Drive.
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
