SAN DIEGO–The City of San Diego announced the selection of two proposals to develop vacant City-owned properties into permanent housing with on-site supportive services to house veterans, seniors, youth, and young adults who’ve experienced homelessness.
Community Housing Works and San Diego Community Housing Corporation, known for their decades of experience creating this type of housing in communities across the region and state, have been conditionally awarded the development bids after a competitive Request for Proposals was issued in February. The City Council may consider the two ground leases and their respective development plans in the coming months.
“There is a great need in our community for housing that gives folks a real chance to have a place of their own, but also the support system they need to stay housed,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “This public-private partnership will help transform these vacant City-owned properties into opportunities that will change the lives of so many of our fellow San Diegans for the better.”
The selection comes after Mayor Faulconer announced in 2019 that eight City-owned properties throughout the City would be made available for development into permanent supportive housing. It also furthers the goals laid out in the City’s Community Action Plan on Homelessness released in 2019. The action plan identified the critical need to increase permanent supportive housing by 2,659 units for individuals experiencing homelessness within the next 10 years, with 60% of those units (1,595) to be developed within the first four years.
The Community Housing Works’ proposal includes building 26 units for chronically homeless youth and young adults on a .336-acre site at the former Serra Mesa Library. It also proposes YMCA Youth and Family Services providing on-site case management and is targeting an opening in August 2023.
The housing corporation proposed developing the 1.42-acre Scripps Ranch Park and Ride and constructing 60 units for veterans and seniors. Targeted to open in January 2024, it will provide on-site case management through the San Diego Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.
“After a comprehensive review, we determined that both organizations submitted well-qualified and responsive proposals,” said Deputy Chief Operating Officer Erik Caldwell. “Now, we will work on presenting both proposals to the City Council, so construction on these vital permanent housing projects can commence as soon as possible.”
These two projects are in addition to the City and San Diego Housing Commission’s proposed purchase of two hotels to transform into permanent housing and further advance the number of individuals being served at Operation Shelter to Home at the San Diego Convention Center, which has already housed more than 660 individuals since May.
Permanent supportive housing is community-based housing for persons who have experienced homelessness. It helps individuals by removing limits on the length of time they can live at the facility, provides on-site or off-site supportive services and health care to assist residents in retaining long-term housing and maximizing their ability to live and, when possible, work in the community.
