Ground breaks on Sunny Acres land — soon, it'll be affordable housing for mentally ill residents

An application period will open in January for people seeking to live at Bishop Street Studios in San Luis Obispo, an affordable housing complex now under construction.

The 34-unit complex at 1720 Bishop St. will offer one-person apartments for mentally ill residents.

San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill and others were on hand Thursday for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate efforts to renovate the former Sunny Acres orphanage, which sits on 1.3 acres of land, and make it habitable.

City-approved plans call for a resident manager to live on site and monitor the property for repairs and maintenance, as well as resident needs.

Local nonprofit Transitions-Mental Health Association and the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo will verify the eligibility of applicants, and then applicants will be informed of their ranking on the list.

Criteria for residency will include income level, length of residency in San Luis Obispo County and verification of disability status.

Those selected as residents are expected to move in starting Sept. 1, 2019, said Joe Madsen, a housing director with Transitions-Mental Health.

Information sessions will be held in November and December to inform potential tenants of the details of the housing opportunity and answer any questions people may have about living at Bishop Street Studios.

More information is available at 805-540-6599 or www.bishopstreetstudios.org.

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Ground breaks on Sunny Acres land — soon, it'll be affordable housing for mentally ill residents."