FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO Mayor Todd Gloria and County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher today announced that the State of California has awarded $11.83 million from Governor Gavin Newsoms Project Homekey program to help finance the development of 40 new homes for San Diegans experiencing chronic homelessness.

The award will be used to help build PATH Villas El Cerrito, a partnership between PATH Ventures, Family Health Centers of San Diego and Bold Communities.

What solves chronic homelessness is housing with supportive services, and this award from the states Project Homekey will help us build 40 more of these critically needed homes, said Mayor Todd Gloria. This is possible because Governor Gavin Newsom understands that ending homelessness is job number one in California. Im grateful to the Governor, his Department of Housing and Community Development and all the local partners working to create new homes for dozens of San Diegans in need.

Thanks to the vision of Governor Gavin Newsom, our community has another opportunity to match necessary services with safe and stable homes to support San Diegans that need it most, said Nathan Fletcher, Chair, San Diego County Board of Supervisors. This project is another demonstration of the Countys unprecedented partnerships and investments in affordable housing and addressing homelessness, our regions most pressing challenges.

In April, the County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate approximately $11 million to the development for capital and a portion of future services and operating costs. The City will provide more than $2 million from its share of funding from the state Permanent Local Housing Allocation program, which was established by Senate Bill 2, legislation by Senate President pro Tem Toni G. Atkins in 2017 that created a permanent source of funding for affordable housing. Nearly $3 million needed to complete the financing will come from loan funding.

The Project Homekey award resulted from an application by the County of San Diego, San Diego Housing Commission and PATH Ventures.

The City of San Diego, through the San Diego Housing Commission, will also provide 40 project-based housing vouchers to help pay rent for the residents who previously experienced homelessness, which is essential for housing stability.

The project location is at 5476 El Cajon Blvd. in El Cerrito, part of Chair Fletchers 4th Supervisorial District and City Council District 9, represented by Council President Sean Elo-Rivera.

Housing is a human right, and the lack of housing has left us in a worsening humanitarian crisis that is having a devastating effect on our community. Thats why we have a moral imperative to utilize all opportunities available to create housing opportunities, said Council President Elo-Rivera. This Project Homekey award gives us the opportunity to build additional permanent supportive housing, an essential piece of the pathway to housing for our unsheltered neighbors, especially those in my district.

The building will comprise five levels of apartments that will sit directly above a ground-floor integrated health and physical rehabilitation clinic to be operated by Family Health Centers. It would include five studio apartments, 17 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments and one managers unit -- all of them modular units. The onsite clinic will offer preventative and medical care, mental-health care, outpatient substance-use treatment, dental care and other supportive services. The development will also include a dog park and a business center to aid with job searches.

Families, veterans and others experiencing homelessness will have the opportunity to obtain a quality, permanent, affordable rental home of their own because of these Homekey funds. They will also have access to the services they need, Housing Commission Interim President and CEO Jeff Davis said. The San Diego Housing Commission thanks Governor Newsom and state lawmakers for making this funding available and looks forward to continuing to work with Mayor Gloria, the County of San Diego, PATH and Family Health Centers of San Diego on this important development.

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