San Diego Designates Three New Properties for Affordable Housing Development

SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Board of Supervisors voted to designate three vacant County-owned properties as surplus assets to address the request for proposals to convert them into affordable housing.

Two of the properties are located in the City of San Diego. One is the former Northeast Family Resource Center, located at 5001 73rd Street in the College area. The property is 1.26 acres and has been vacated by the Health and Human Services Agency and includes a 22,000 square foot building that will be demolished by the end of 2022.

The second property is located at 6255 Mission Gorge Road in the Grantville area. The property includes a 23,385-square-foot building on 0.86 acres that will also be demolished by the end of 2022, as well as a separate 18,731-square-foot parking lot across Glacier Ave. to the northeast.

Meanwhile, the third property is in Escondido, located at 600-620 E. Valley Parkway, and includes 1.88 acres of vacant land that used to be home to the North Inland Family Resource Center.

By demolishing and vacating the existing structures on City of San Diego land at a cost of $1.29 million, the properties can be turned over to the selected developers in a clean condition and will help streamline the development process to make it financially viable.

Moreover, the City Council reported that the development of these properties is part of the County’s ongoing efforts to increase the number of affordable housing units in the region.

In 2017, the County established the Innovative Housing Trust Fund to provide resources for affordable housing developments. To date, the $50 million invested in the fund has leveraged $567 million in other public and private funds to create and preserve 1,397 units within 20 complexes in 15 communities throughout San Diego.

In August 2021, the Board of Supervisors increased funding by $20 million for a total of $70 million.

According to the most recent Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment, about 68,959 affordable housing units are needed regionally for very low- and low-income persons and households.

All of the units set aside for low-income persons and households serve tenants earning less than 80% of the area median income, currently $67,900 for a one-person household and $97,000 for a four-person household.

Source: MEXICONOW Staff