Jim Duran, Councilmember, from left; Sandy Sanchez, Senior Developer; Mike Johnson, Councilmember; Jim White, Vice Chair; Jeffrey Lambert, Chief Executive Officer; Joe Schroeder, Mayor, Salud Carbajal, Congressman; John Polanskey, Board Chair; Sierra Atilano, Executive Vice President of Development, Bridge Housing; Katherine Simonson, Commissioner; Marcia Vega, HUD Regional Public Housing Director Region 9 & 10; Barbara Keller, Commissioner, Diana Sparagna, Commissioner. Courtesy photo.
Housing Complex is largest in the City of Ventura and Furthers the Vision for the Entire Westview Village Development
SANTA BARBARA — The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) and nonprofit BRIDGE Housing hosted the Grand Opening of Westview Village II, a 50-unit affordable rental development which broke ground in the spring of 2022.
The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura and BRIDGE Housing partnered to redevelop Westview Village, the HACSB’s oldest public housing development, over four phases of development. All residents pay 30% of their income as rent.
“The timing of this next phase of Westview Village is significant as it is our 75th Anniversary year and this was our first public housing project,” said Jeffrey Lambert, Chief Executive Officer, HACSB. “The success of this particular project is emblematic of our successful housing programs across the City and we are very proud of it,” said Lambert.
Westview Village Phase II replaced 10 public housing units with 50 modern one- and two-bedroom apartments. The property is located on a 2-acre site on the Westside of Ventura. The development includes 44 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments. Five of the units will be reserved for persons who are experiencing homelessness.
Westview Village II will also include a state-of-the-art community center, a commercial kitchen, two early childhood development classrooms, multipurpose rooms, a rooftop community garden, and a public park. This will complete the third phase of the vision for the Westview Village redevelopment. There will be 286 new affordable rentals and this phase of development will be the hub for this new housing campus. 50% of the Westview II units are fully accessible (mobility accessibility features), and 2 units have audio/visual features for blind/deaf/hard of hearing tenants.
Westview Village I, completed in 2019, was the initial phase of the redevelopment which includes 131 apartments with one to four bedrooms, management offices, a community room, and a public park. Phase I is all electric and 50% net zero. It provides for greywater reuse in landscaping. All residents pay 30% of their income as rent. All residents were temporarily relocated during construction and had the right to return. As part of Phase I, a new street, Village Way, was designed and built to connect all phases of the redevelopment.
Westview Village III construction started in September 2020 and was completed in December 2022. Phase III includes 105 apartments with one to four bedrooms, a community room, and public park. Phase III is all electric and 100% net zero and makes a major contribution to addressing climate change including by reducing vehicle miles traveled. The project’s storm drain system allows for the capture and infiltration of storm water. Twenty-one apartments are set aside for families who are experiencing homelessness.
Historical Significance As the oldest public housing development, housing units at this location were developed in two phases (100 units and 80 units), ten years apart in the 1952-1960s. This original development housed residents displaced from “Tortilla Flats,” a neighborhood that consisted of working-class families who were displaced when the 101 Freeway expanded north from Los Angeles through Oxnard and Ventura. The original 180 units are being replaced with 320 units by the time Phase IV is completed.
The mission of the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura is to provide and develop quality affordable housing for eligible low-income residents of Ventura County and to establish strong partnerships necessary for HACSB customers to achieve personal goals related to, literacy and education, health and wellness, and job training and employment leading to personal growth and economic self-sufficiency.