San Diego County to open new affordable housing for older adults amid overwhelming demand

More than 120 new apartments are opening this week for low-income older adults, the first of nearly a dozen affordable housing projects under way using land owned by San Diego County.

The Levant Senior Cottages are near Linda Vista Park; the county is leasing out the property for just $1 a year.

Monthly rents will range from around $600 to $1,200.

“The building block is excess land,” David Estrella, director of the county’s housing and community development services, said in an interview. “This is an example of unlocking it and reimagining it and addressing the great need within our region.”

The need is great.

A recent study by the nonprofit California Housing Partnership estimated there are more than 134,500 low-income households countywide that don’t own homes and lack access to rent-restricted or affordable housing.

Furthermore, researchers have found that Southern California’s sky-high rents are major drivers of homelessness. People on fixed incomes are especially at risk, and a new tally of the region’s homeless population concluded that nearly a third of those without shelter were at least 55 years old.

Unsurprisingly, every unit in the new project is already spoken for.

A kitchen in a one-bedroom unit at the Levant Senior Cottages in Linda Vista on May 23, 2024.

(Sandy Huffaker/The San Diego Union Tribune)

There are a total of 126 studio or one-bedroom apartments. Residents of 70 units will have vouchers allowing them to pay only 30 percent of their incomes toward rent. The rest of the tab is picked up by the San Diego Housing Commission.

Those living in the other apartments are still expected to pay around 30 percent.

Vouchers that help cover rent have been a major tool to keep people at risk of homelessness under a roof, although budget deficits are forcing leaders to make tough choices about what to prioritize. The San Diego City Council is currently weighing whether to re-allocate millions of dollars the Housing Commission had planned on using for projects like Levant.

The cottages were created by Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation along with the nonprofit San Diego Kind Corp. Residents who need extra medical care will be served by the organization St. Paul’s PACE.

“It’s an extraordinary resource,” said Rebecca Louie, Wakeland’s president and CEO.

The project cost almost $48.9 million. The developer received $20.6 million of that total through tax credits, $19 million from the state of California, $7.8 million as a loan from JP Morgan Chase and more than $1 million in deferred fees, leaders said.

Residents should be able to move in Wednesday, with a grand opening planned the day after.

A courtyard at the Levant Senior Cottages in Linda Vista on May 23, 2024.

(Sandy Huffaker/The San Diego Union Tribune)

Officials began looking for county land that could be turned into affordable housing years ago. Eleven sites have been flagged and at least two are under construction, including Kettner Crossing in Little Italy, another spot reserved for older adults.

Other agencies in the region are working on their own affordable housing. That includes projects in Rancho Bernardo, on school property in City Heights and at the site of a former Ritz-Carlton downtown.