AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS IN ENCANTO MAY BE MODEL FOR SAN DIEGO’S NEIGHBORHOODS

Mayor tours 65-unit development built for low-income households

Will a new housing development increase traffic and squeeze parking? What kind of people will live in it? How will my neighborhood change?

Those questions typically come up in conversations between developers and San Diego community members, city leaders and housing advocates say, especially in neighborhoods near public transportation hubs where the city is encouraging new multifamily developments.

On a recent tour of a new 65apartment, affordable housing complex in the Encanto neighborhood, Mayor Todd Gloria noted a conversation people are not having that often is just as important.

“We don’t talk about the thousands of people on a waiting list, just hoping for an opportunity to be here,” he said.

The Encanto Village development opened in July, and now all of its apartments are occupied. But there are about 1,500 people still on a waiting list, said Steve Pontell, president of National CORE, the national, nonprofit developer of the project.

Gloria said developments like Encanto Village are an example of how the city plans to provide more housing for working families, who increasingly are being forced to move from San Diego communities because of high housing costs.

“It’s projects like this that are in communities, that allow members of that community to stay here,” Gloria said.

Gloria said he wants to bring similar housing developments to other San Diego neighborhoods, with an emphasis on affordability. Median home prices in the San Diego County reached $672,750 in February and rent increases averaged 5 percent a year as of May.

“My administration is looking forward to trying to unveil additional initiatives to try and expedite this process,” he said. “We have done some things; we can surely do more.”

Encanto Village includes apartments with one, two and three bedrooms for low-income households — families or individuals earning 30 percent to 60 percent of the area’s median income, or about $32,750 to $65,480 a year for a family of three.

Eight units also were set aside for homeless veterans and their families.

The development, a cluster of three buildings along Imperial Ave

nue, is across the street from the Orange Line Encanto/62nd Street trolley station and a bus stop.

The property provides onsite laundry, an outdoor play area, a community garden, a computer center, a community center for residents and local groups to use, and a bicycle storage area. There also is 5,000 square feet of commercial space available to nonprofit organizations and local businesses.

There also are 50 parking spaces available to residents and charging stations for electric vehicles.

Residents have access to after-school activities, and there are classes in financial literacy, homebuying, résumé building, nutrition and English as a Second Language, provided by the Hope through Housing Foundation, an affiliate of National CORE.