<span>Smart Corner</span><br>Headquarters of the San Diego Housing Commission. Tenants include 7-Eleven, Cricket Wireless, San Diego Family Justice Center and the Housing Opportunities Collaborative.

Groundbreaking in 2004 of Smart Corner, the headquarters of the San Diego Housing Commission.

About Us

Established in 1979, the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) is an award-winning public agency dedicated to preserving and increasing affordable housing within the City of San Diego. Since 1981, SDHC has contributed more than $1 billion in loans and bond financing to projects that have produced 14,531 affordable rental units.

We provide a variety of award-winning affordable housing programs and services that stimulate the local economy, revitalize neighborhoods, and help improve the lives of more than 125,000 San Diegans annually.

SDHC’s Rental Assistance Department administers the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides rent subsidies for more than 14,000 low-income households in the City of San Diego. Under this program families, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities pay between 30 and 40 percent of their adjusted monthly gross income on rent. It’s worth noting that the Housing Choice Voucher Program, currently funded by $145.5 million in HUD money, has been SDHC’s largest single program since its existence.

SDHC is one of the few public housing agencies in the nation to have opted out of the federal government's public housing program and assumed full ownership of most of the multi-family properties formerly controlled jointly with the federal government. By doing so, SDHC gained more autonomy and flexibility to own and manage more than 1,800 affordable rental units that are leased to low-income families, seniors, and the disabled.

Having recently generated capital funds by refinancing the agency’s properties, SDHC’s Real Estate Department is in acquisition mode. Their goal is to buy and rehabilitate multi-family properties for conversion to affordable housing. The department also oversees programs that assist first-time homebuyers and low-income homeowners whose properties need rehabilitation.

In fiscal year 2013, SDHC has a staff of 266 employees and a budget of $349.1 million. The agency receives no General Fund money from the City of San Diego.

In January 2007, SDHC moved to its new headquarters at the “Smart Corner,” office and retail complex at 1122 Broadway. “Smart Corner,” is so named because of the combination of commercial, residential and office uses clustered at a busy Metropolitan Transit District trolley and bus stop. In addition to the offices for SDHC, tenants at the site include 7-Eleven, Cricket Wireless, the Family Justice Center and the Housing Opportunities Collaborative.