March 30, 2021
Virtual Grand Opening Celebrates More Than 300 New Affordable Rental Apartments for Families and Seniors in Mission Valley
The San Diego Housing Commission collaborated with Chelsea Investment Corporation on the developments, which will remain affordable for 55 years
SAN DIEGO, CA — The completion of more than 300 new affordable rental apartments in Mission Valley for seniors and families with low income was celebrated today at a virtual grand opening event.
“How wonderful it is to see such projects like Siena and Stylus come to fruition,” California State Treasurer Fiona Ma said during the grand opening webinar. “These deals are very, very complicated – decades in the making – and to finally get to that point where you’re doing the ribbon cutting and seeing those folks move in is a great day.”
Developed by Chelsea Investment Corporation in collaboration with SDHC and additional partners, the Siena and Stylus developments are part of the Civita master-planned community in Mission Valley.
“I’m proud that these are in our district in Mission Valley, close to jobs, close to public transit. It really brings a lot to our community. The housing crisis is a struggle we must face head-on, and hard-working San Diegans deserve to be able to live near where they work as a matter of the quality of their life,” said City Councilmember Raul Campillo, who represents District 7, which includes the Siena and Stylus developments.
Siena consists of 103 one- and two-bedroom apartments with rents affordable to seniors with income up to 65 percent of the San Diego Area Median Income (AMI), currently $60,100 per year for a two-person household. Stylus, formerly known as Civita II Family Apartments, provides 201 two- and three-bedroom apartments for families with income up to 60 percent of AMI, currently $69,300 per year for a family of four, and two managers’ units without rent restrictions.
“The property that we celebrate today provides homes for not only low-income families and seniors currently, but these units, under law, will remain affordable for 55 years. Creating affordable housing like this is an essential part of what we do at the San Diego Housing Commission,” said SDHC President & CEO Richard C. Gentry.
SDHC authorized the issuance of $58.8 million in Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds to support the construction of Stylus. The San Diego City Council, in its role as the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego, approved the bonds. SDHC, the City of San Diego and the Housing Authority of the City of San Diego are not financially liable for the bonds, which are repaid from private funding sources, such as revenue from the development.
SDHC will monitor the Siena and Stylus developments to ensure their rents remain within the specified affordability levels and that residents qualify based on their income.
Both properties are fully occupied.
“The most important fact, by far, is that Siena and Stylus provide homes for 628 San Diegans,” Chelsea Investment Corporation Founder and CEO James J. Schmid said.
Combined, Siena and Stylus are the largest new project in San Diego built with financing that included Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds, said Nancee Robles, Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee.
Additional partners include the lender, Citi Community Capital, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investment company Raymond James.
“Most importantly, 306 families and seniors now have a safe and affordable place to call home. I mean, what a blessing to these families,” Citi Community Capital Director Sonia Rahm said.
Both properties are part of the master-planned Civita community – a combination of “Civic” and “Vitality” – in Mission Valley, located in the Quarry Falls Specific Plan area.
Civita is subject to the City of San Diego’s Inclusionary Affordable Housing Ordinance. The Master Developer, Sudberry Properties, has set aside 10 percent of the total number of developed units for affordable housing.
“It turned out beautiful, and you can’t tell the difference between this affordable development and the full market-rent housing right across the street. That’s something very, very important to us, and we’re really proud of our company for pulling that off,” said Sudberry President Colton T. Sudberry.
Including the affordable units at Siena and Stylus, 456 affordable units have been built in the Civita community.
For more information, visit www.sdhc.org
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Media Contact:
Scott Marshall
Vice President of Communications
San Diego Housing Commission
619-578-7138
