County Supervisors OK Conditional Funding For Housing Project

SAN DIEGO, CA — The county Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved $12.4 million in conditional funding for a proposed supportive housing project in the city of San Diego focused on tenants with serious behavioral health needs, and is waiting for state approval Wednesday to begin the project.

According to a statement Tuesday from board Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer's office, the project is planned at 7798 Starling Drive in the city's Birdland neighborhood.

The proposed housing is a partnership of the San Diego city and county governments, and the San Diego Housing Commission.

"If successful, the proposal will deliver 82 units of deeply affordable, service-supported housing," and will serve residents who have experienced homelessness, with a focus on those with complex behavioral health conditions, according to Lawson-Remer.

The project will also include on-site care to support the residents' recovery and long-term stability, she added.

According to Lawson-Remer's office, the county providing $12.4 million is "expected to unlock" $35 million in state Homekey funding, $10 million from the city of San Diego, and 40 federal Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers.

Homekey is described as a statewide effort to "sustain and rapidly expand" housing for people who are homeless or at risk of finding themselves on the streets.

If it receives state approval, the project "would become a model for permanent supportive housing," according to Lawson-Remer's office.

— City News Service