The Carlsbad City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the purchase of a 16-unit apartment complex from a nonprofit homeless services provider in exchange for loan forgiveness.
Why it matters
In 2015, the city loaned homeless services provider Solutions for Change $3.1 million to purchase the property on Chestnut Avenue.
Solutions for Change planned to relocate the existing tenants and renovate the entire complex for affordable housing. However, the nonprofit could not find funding to complete the project because of state and federal housing-first policies requiring low barriers for housing programs.
"I was getting huge amounts of public money from the county and the state. We were winning with no problem," Solutions for Change CEO Chris Megison told the Council on Tuesday. "And then it was denied. why? Because Megison, you won't comply with housing first. Try it again. Denied. Why? Because we would not do drug-allowed housing."
Looking ahead
Solutions for Change will continue to manage the property, which consists of three two-story apartment buildings, until the end of the year.
The city will look for a developer to take over the site and build the 100 percent affordable housing project. The city hopes to approve a developer by September and transfer the property by December.
