A new affordable housing complex officially opened in downtown San Diego on Thursday, though residents began moving in last October.
The 88-unit Jacaranda on Ninth sits on the site of a former hotel-turned-homeless shelter. Most are for households earning less than 25% of the area's median income, with 14 units reserved for previously homeless individuals.
Isabelle Fuentes is one of them. She said she became homeless in 2019 and was on a housing waitlist for six years before moving.
“When I moved here, I couldn’t believe it. It was a dream,” she said, choking back tears during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building.
“There are fewer priorities higher than for me than housing and housing affordability,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said.
He said he and other downtown residents wanted to see this project come to fruition when the shelter fell into disrepair and closed more than two years ago.
“We have an incredible downtown community who understands that all of us have to be a solution to the housing crisis,” Gloria said.
The nonprofit Community HousingWorks developed the city-owned property into affordable housing. Sean Spear, president and CEO of the nonprofit, said projects like this one are homeless prevention.
“By being able to provide these residents with not only a roof over their heads, but also deep level of services being brought alongside that, the hope is that we will create a stabilized community for them,” he said.
All 88 units are already occupied. Tyler Renner, with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), said that shows the critical need for affordable housing.
“We need more affordable housing to make sure that we can allow for people to move up the pipeline into housing opportunities," he said.
PATH is providing wraparound services for formerly homeless individuals living at Jacaranda. Renner said the idea is to help these individuals become self-sufficient. That includes helping them with financing, budgeting and "how to manage their lives, how to work toward their goals," he said.
When residents move in, they receive basic furniture, and then they are partnered with community groups such as Humble Design to decorate the place to feel more like home.
To qualify for a home at Jacaranda, people need to enroll with a service provider, such as the Housing Commission, to be added to the waiting list.
