With a building plan already in place, city and county officials in San Diego are applying for $12 million in state Project Homekey funding to help construct a 40-unit apartment building and medical clinic in El Cerrito that would provide housing for people experiencing or facing homelessness.
The PATH Villas El Cerrito project would cost a total of $24 million to construct and could be completed by next spring. A second phase opening a year later would add an additional 140 units of affordable housing on the same site, 5476 El Cajon Blvd., in the Mid-City area of San Diego.
PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) Ventures, which opened Connections Housing in downtown San Diego 10 years ago, is developing the project in partnership with Los Angeles-based Bold Communities, a nonprofit that formed last year.
PATH Ventures CEO Joel Roberts said the project will end homelessness for some residents and prevent others from falling into homelessness by providing affordable housing and services.
“Cities around the state are getting people off the street and into housing,” he said. “The problem is, the homeless numbers are not going away. We’re not preventing homelessness. We see phase two as a homeless-prevention program.”
Of the first 40 units, 22 will be for people considered chronically homeless, with the remainder affordable housing. Two lower floors will house an integrated health and physical rehabilitation clinic operated by Family Health Centers.
Roberts, who is based in Los Angeles, said he was impressed with the collaboration he saw between San Diego city and county officials. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria echoed the sentiment.
“Once again, the City and County of San Diego are collaborating to meaningfully address homelessness, this time by placing unsheltered San Diegans into permanent homes with supportive services attached,” Gloria said. “This is precisely what was envisioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature when they created Project Homekey, and I am grateful for state support for our local efforts to get unhoused residents into homes of their own.”
If approved by the state, the application will net at least $11.825 million in Project Homekey dollars, about half of the funding needed for the $23.7-million development.
In advance of the application being filed, the county Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on allocating about $11 million to the project, which would include construction costs plus future services and operating costs. An additional $2 million would come from the city of San Diego’s share of the state Permanent Local Housing Allocation program, established in 2017 by Senate Bill 2, legislation by state Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins. An additional $3 million needed to complete the financing would come from loan funding.
“Delivering viable opportunities for the unsheltered to leave the streets, get the rehabilitative services they need and put them on a trajectory to thrive is our goal for this new Project Homekey partnership,” said Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher. “This project is another example of the historic investments the county is making to tackle the homelessness crisis and build more housing across the region. No single entity can take on these challenges alone, and I am pleased to have great partners like Mayor Gloria, PATH and the San Diego Housing Commission working with us to take action and deliver results.”
The building would comprise five levels of prefabricated, container-based housing units made from recycled shipping containers and light-gauge steel, which would be built in a warehouse and shipped to the site. It would include five studio apartments, 17 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments and one manager’s unit.
The San Diego Housing Commission would provide 40 project-based housing vouchers to help pay rent for the residents who previously experienced homelessness.
The project is in Fletcher’s county district and City Council District 9, represented by Council President Sean Elo-Rivera.
“Housing and supportive services are essential to addressing our homelessness crisis,” Elo-Rivera said. “I’m proud that the City and the County are partnering to provide sorely needed homes for people living on the streets, especially those in my district.”
Roberts said PATH is working with Bold Communities to help the new nonprofit, which has a mission to solve the housing crisis in California. According to its website, Bold Communities is a minority-led organization that is seeking partnerships with experienced developers, capital partners and service providers to help in its mission.
Get Essential San Diego, weekday mornings
Get top headlines from the Union-Tribune in your inbox weekday mornings, including top news, local, sports, business, entertainment and opinion.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Vista, Urban Corps to plant 200 trees in city
Wounded Marines help spruce up veterans’ home
Closed during pandemic, Father Joe’s reopens dining hall for Easter celebration
Chula Vista street team aims to save lives of its homeless residents
New Midway shelter may be first of more coming to county
‘Everybody treats everyone here as normal people.’ Clubhouses for mentally ill provide friendship, purpose
Code enforcement to share campus with Oceanside homeless shelter
Buildings will be ready for occupation this summer
Gloria proposes across-the-board spending increases as city taps revived revenues, federal aid
San Diego mayor unveils new budget that focuses on delivering more neighborhood services more quickly.
Measure C: San Diego to appeal court ruling that said City Council erred in declaring victory
At issue is a recent Superior Court ruling that elected leaders had no legal authority last year to change the outcome of an initiative that would have raised the hotel tax to finance an enlarged convention center, homeless services and road repairs.
North County’s street veterinarian aids homeless pets and launches clinic with fear-free care
Dr. Kwane Stewart has been offering free veterinary care to homeless pet owners for the past decade
A small court with a big mission: A second chance for criminals with mental illness
Program gets participants out of jail and into group homes where they get treatment, counseling and medication
‘It’s absolutely worse.’ Sen. Atkins reacts to downtown homeless population
The state senator toured St. Teresa of Calcutta Villa in San Diego on Friday
The Phoenix Ghost, a secretive ‘suicide drone’ developed in Solana Beach, is headed to Ukraine
DUI suspect strikes, kills Menifee man standing by disabled SUV in Carlsbad
Police ID fugitive suspect in stabbings that killed Mira Mesa woman, 87, wounded her daughter
Man pleads guilty to fatal stabbing, injury stabbing following Chula Vista Halloween party
Man who struggled with officer shot on Interstate 8 identified
UCSD trauma doctors say migrant injuries and deaths rose sharply as the border wall grew taller
Geneticist Craig Venter sells his La Jolla research center to UC San Diego for $25 million
Man who struggled with officer shot on Interstate 8 identified
‘Fat Leonard’ trial will resume while judge considers accusations against prosecutors
Man fatally stabbed in National City; 44-year-old woman in custody
Column: History-maker Jared Sandberg relishes shot to guide Padres’ Triple-A club in El Paso
Opinion: More people than ever are dying climbing the U.S.-Mexico border wall. It’s ‘an unseen crisis.’
Opinion: A surge in border wall deaths and injuries has stressed San Diego County’s trauma system
Privacy Policy Terms of Service Sign Up For Our Newsletters