April 30, 2024
124 Affordable Rental Apartments Near Transit Open in Grantville
The San Diego Housing Commission awarded 25 housing vouchers and authorized financing to support ShoreLINE Apartments
SAN DIEGO, CA — With San Diego Trolley and bus service just steps away from the front door to ShoreLINE, a newly constructed development that celebrated its grand opening today, residents with lower income now have rental homes they can afford near easy access to transit for work, school, leisure activities and more.
“This is a win, not just for the residents here at ShoreLINE, but for our entire community, and I would say, our entire city,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. “Because by having this proximity to transit, we’re not just addressing our housing affordability crisis, we’re also tackling traffic. We’re helping to reduce emissions. We’re helping to preserve our climate. We’re solving multiple problems at once. That’s why I’m so excited about this particular project.”
Affirmed Housing Group developed ShoreLINE in collaboration with the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and multiple partners to provide 124 apartments with rents affordable to households earning 30 percent to 60 percent of San Diego’s Area Median Income (AMI), approximately $45,000 to $90,000 per year for a family of four. ShoreLINE also includes two managers’ units.
“Low-income San Diegans, in particular, are having a difficult game of musical chairs when it comes to affording their housing,” said City Councilmember Raul Campillo, who represents Council District 7, which includes the Grantville community where ShoreLINE was built. “That makes it incredibly hard for them to stay. And if they do stay, they’re moving further and further away from where they work, where they go to school, where they worship at church. We have to make affordable housing for them, so they can keep their communities together.”
ShoreLINE was built on property owned by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) adjacent to the Grantville Trolley Station. MTS ground leased the land for the ShoreLINE development.
“We desperately need more affordable housing options,” said San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, Chair of the MTS Board of Directors. “As dedicated community partners, MTS has taken important steps to convert several of our parking lots at transit centers into thriving, transit-oriented housing developments to help alleviate the price of housing here in San Diego.”
SDHC awarded 25 federal rental housing vouchers to the ShoreLINE development to help pay rent for residents. These housing vouchers are linked to ShoreLINE. When a resident moves on, the voucher remains to help another household with lower income rent an apartment at ShoreLINE.
“This is the transformation of a former parking lot into affordable rental homes that will make this a stronger community and change the lives of hundreds of families who will call ShoreLINE home in the coming years,” SDHC Vice Chair of the Board Ryan Clumpner said. “The ability to focus on work, school, health, family and so much more starts with the ability to pay a rent that fits within one’s income. That’s why we need more homes like this.”
SDHC also authorized the issuance of $31.4 million in tax-exempt Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds and $24.5 million in taxable bonds to support this development. The City Council, in its role as the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego, approved the bonds. SDHC, the City of San Diego and the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego are not financially liable for the bonds. Private sources of funds, such as revenue from the development, are used to repay the bonds.
“The impact of ShoreLINE transcends mere brick and mortar,” Affirmed Housing President Jimmy Silverwood said. “It promises to be a catalyst for transformative change in the lives of its residents. Within these walls, memories will be forged, dreams pursued and futures shaped.”
One of ShoreLINE’s new residents, Karima, said she struggled to find affordable housing for herself and her daughter after she lost her son and two nephews in a car accident two years ago, followed by the death of her husband seven months later.
“I feel so honored and blessed to be here,” she said through tears. “It is so safe.”
ShoreLINE consists of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units that will remain affordable for 55 years.
Financing for the development includes a $10 million Transit-Oriented Development loan provided by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Other finance partners include Boston Financial and California Bank & Trust.
The property is managed by ConAm Management Corp. Tenant supportive services at ShoreLINE are provided by Compass for Affordable Housing.
The ShoreLINE development includes a five-story building and underground parking with 54 spaces, in addition to 12 surface parking spaces.
The ground level of the property features residential units, parking, bike storage, staff offices and an assembly and entertainment area with outdoor patios. The upper levels also include residential units with a laundry room and a 5,800-square-foot podium-level courtyard.
Other amenities include shaded outdoor gathering spaces with built-in seating, children’s play areas and a community barbecue area.
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
