Residents move into 43-unit affordable housing complex in SLO

Until a few months ago, 22-year-old Rebecca Heinicke and her family of four had lived in Templeton, sharing housing with relatives.

Raising two children, ages 5 and 2, involved sharing living space to make ends meet and commuting to Avila Beach for her job in guest services, while her partner worked for a moving company in San Luis Obispo.

However, Heinicke on Thursday joined an honorary grand opening of an affordable housing complex in San Luis Obispo that has literally and figuratively opened up new doors in her life — providing her family with a two-bedroom apartment they now call home.

The 43-unit complex at 309 South St., called South Hills Crossing, charges monthly rent of $409 to $1,149 for those who qualify — families with incomes at or below 60 percent of San Luis Obispo County’s median income.

The complex has one-, two- and three-bedroom units. All of them are rented.

The project was a partnership between the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo and the Santa Clara-based developer ROEM Corporation.

“I am so grateful,” Heinicke said. “San Luis Obispo is lovely and a great place to raise a family.”

Other tenants include a veteran who was struggling to find stable housing in the county, also with children, as well as victims of domestic violence who had been living in shelters.

The development features an industrial, railroad look to keep with the history of the neighborhood, which was once a hub for train traffic and commerce.

The $14.1 million project was financed through a complex arrangement of public grants and subsidies, with 9 percent coming from federal low-income tax credits. The city of San Luis Obispo also deferred $716,000 in fees, and the project received $620,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding.

“Basically, it takes a more complicated financial arrangement to make this work because we couldn’t afford to fund it on our own,” said Scott Smith, HASLO’s executive director.

At the grand opening celebration Thursday, project coordinators said that between the efforts of city, county, nonprofit groups and private developers, more than 30 people played a critical role in seeing the project through.

“As we all know, housing is in high demand not only in San Luis Obispo County, but throughout the state,” said county Supervisor Adam Hill. “We need more projects like this.”

San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx said South Hills Crossing helps the city meet its goal of building 660 affordable housing units between 2014 and 2019.

“So many people feel the pain of this housing market,” Marx said. “These are the people who work here and who we depend upon and can’t afford a $1 million home.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Residents move into 43-unit affordable housing complex in SLO."