A new affordable housing project is bringing more than 120 apartments to San Diego's Linda Vista neighborhood.
County leaders on Thursday will open 108 studios, 18 one-bedroom units, and one two-bedroom manager unit.
The $48.8-million project — Levant Senior Cottages — sits just across from Linda Vista Park and is the county’s latest effort to prevent vulnerable seniors from becoming homeless.
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“When we are trying to provide housing for seniors, we're talking about seniors whose are on fixed incomes, whose rents continue to go up, whose medical costs continue to go up, and so their grocery bill keeps going up,” David Estrella, director of San Diego County Housing and Community Services, said.
The number of San Diegans 55 and older who are homeless increased by 30% from last year, according to the 2024 Point-in-Time report. Last week, Serving Seniors’ CEO Paul Downey told NBC 7 they saw a 15% increase in adults over 55 living in their car.
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Estrella said the residents of about 70 units at Levant will get vouchers, allowing them to pay approximately 30% of their income towards rent, which will range from around $600-$1200 a month.
“Rent varies by income level, so what we suggest is that individuals who are interested contact Wakeland Housing so that they can put themselves on the list. They can apply, and they can work through the financials for their individual circumstances,” Estrella said.
Levant is the first property to open its doors as a result of a new county initiative to repurpose excess land as affordable housing. The county is working on two other future developments with Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation.
“The idea behind our permanent affordable housing is that there’s an investment from government money, and in this case, beyond the government money. There’s also the land where it was built on, so what that does is the developer enters into an agreement with the government entity to make sure that rents are affordable. In this case, over 70 years at very specific amounts or low-income individuals,” Estrella said.
The lot used to be home to a former child welfare adoption center. Starting Thursday, it will be home to low-income seniors.
Since 2017, San Diego County has invested more than $300 million in developing 11 excess property sites into affordable housing.
