Rob Fredericks’ shirt says it all.
“Everyone deserves a home.”
That shirt is about to ring true for dozens of people at 15 South Hope Ave.
“Today is about building stability, dignity and opportunity right here in Santa Barbara,” said Fredericks, the executive director of the Santa Barbara Housing Authority. “This lot has sat underutilized for years and now it becomes part of the solution to the local housing crisis.”
He was one of the speakers at Wednesday’s groundbreaking event. The $47.8 million project will include 17 studios, 13 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom units. Half of the units will be set aside for individuals with developmental or mental health disabilities.
Of the total, 18 units will be for people earning 30% percent of AMI or below; 14 units will be for people earning 50% of AMI or below; and 13 units will be for those earning 60% of AMI or below. An additional two-bedroom unit will be for an on-site manager.
Residents will receive rental assistance through the Section 8 program, ensuring they pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent, Fredericks said. The project is expected to be completed in about 18 months.
“What makes this development truly different is that it doesn’t stop at housing,” Fredericks said. “This is supportive housing done right.”
The four-story building will include on-site supportive services, including case management, health care connections, job support, financial literacy education and training on to how use computers.
“These are real tools that help people not just stay housed, but move forward with their lives,” Fredericks said.
The new housing comes at a time when the federal government has threatened housing funding for some groups.
More than 1,300 people including nearly 600 children across the county are at risk of housing loss if a nationwide ban on undocumented immigrants in federally subsidized housing takes effect, a move that Fredericks said could add to homelessness locally and across the state.
A year ago, the federal government also put a freeze on new funding for Section 8 vouchers. There are about 7,700 households on the wait list for Section 8 vouchers in the city of Santa Barbara, Fredericks said.
Mayor Randy Rowse, councilmembers Oscar Gutierrez and Wendy Santamaria and city administrator Kelly McAdoo attended the event. The city set up chairs on dirt. Crews have already excavated the site and a tractor on a giant dirt hill served as a backdrop to the press conference.
“A project like this is more important than ever because we are obviously in a major housing crisis so having partners like the Housing Authority and other nonprofits stepping up to help us address that is really important, especially now that the federal cuts have basically taken away a lot of money and funding for projects like this,” Gutierrez said.
Mayor Rowse spoke to the crowd.
“The Housing Authority produces not just housing, not just places to warehouse people, but quality of life housing, the kind of quality that people deserve,” Rowse said.
He said Housing Authority projects are well designed and well managed and that neighbors don’t complain when projects go up.
“They really have a legacy of doing a great job and taking care of their tenants,” Rowse said.
