The San Diego City Council has approved an agreement to build an affordable-housing project featuring support services in the Ocean Beach neighborhood, and construction is expected to begin next month.
The agreement approved Tuesday calls for the city and the San Diego Housing Commission to collaborate on developing the $6.8 million Abbott Street Affordable Housing Project and have it open next year, officials said.
Both entities will spend $1.46 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money, along with $3.9 million from the state of California's Homekey program, which focuses on building affordable housing with supportive services for people experiencing homelessness.
The Abbott Street project will involve the city acquiring and turning a vacant multifamily property into 13 affordable rental housing units for people now living on the street or are at risk of homelessness, the city said.
Construction is expected to begin in late April.
According to city officials, Homekey "provides an opportunity to bring much-needed housing online faster and cheaper than traditional new- construction affordable housing, and is responsible for the addition of more than 600 affordable homes in San Diego for people experiencing homelessness."
Christina Bibler, the city's Economic Development Department director, said she was proud of the city's ability "to swiftly deploy this federal funding to meet housing needs of San Diegans."
"The city's investment in the Abbott Street project continues to highlight the importance of leverage and collaboration of local partners to enable production of permanent housing for vulnerable populations and those at risk or experiencing homelessness," Bibler said.
