VENTURA — The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura applied for and secured $8,370,651, the largest California award from the National Housing Trust Fund, for construction of the Willett Ranch senior affordable housing development.
The Willett Ranch community will make 50 new construction homes available to income-eligible senior households (ages 62+), including 15 homes for formerly homeless seniors. The development, located in the Solana Heights area of Ventura, is designed to GreenPoint-rated standards with regard to energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality and environmentally preferable materials. The community will consist of 46 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units, a community room, a reading or craft room, a common laundry room and office space. The site will be developed with one two-story building on each lot, on-grade parking and landscaped courtyards where seniors can enjoy the outdoors or visit with family.
At the newly constructed development, low-income seniors will pay no more than 30 percent of their income towards rent. Construction is expected to be completed by March 2021, with residents able to move in the following month. Seniors at the new community will access a wide variety of services provided by the HACSB Community Services Department and by way of the HACSB partnership with the Area Agency on Aging.
The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) assists in the new construction of permanent housing for extremely low-income households. The Project was awarded under the first Notice of Funding Availability issued in 2018. All NHTF projects must maintain affordability for a period of 55 years.
“We are thrilled to receive this generous National Housing Trust Fund award that enables the Housing Authority to help address the growing need for safe, accessible and affordable housing for our low-income seniors,” said Denise Wise, HACSB Chief Executive Officer. “The Willett Ranch project is an example of how HACSB is committed to helping Ventura provide healthy, safe, affordable housing to all residents through strong, vibrant community partnerships and development.”
ABOUT THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF SAN BUENAVENTURA:
The Housing Authority of the City Of San Buenaventura (HACSB) is the largest residential landlord in the City of Ventura, currently managing 295 public housing units, 705 nonprofit affordable rental units, and more than 1,500 Section 8 vouchers. The agency is actively working to increase the supply of affordable housing and to improve the quality of life for hundreds more of the low-income residents of the City of Ventura. http://www.hacityventura.org/