SLO is short on affordable housing, but three new projects could help change that
A proposed, four-story mixed-use housing project would add 32 low-income units in San Luis Obispo. That’s in addition to 108 other affordable housing units already approved for construction elsewhere in the city.
The newest 100% affordable housing project is envisioned for a roughly 16,700-square-foot site at Victoria Avenue and Humbert Avenue in the neighborhood behind SLO’s Guild Hall.
The project is being proposed by the Housing Authority of the City of San Luis Obispo (HASLO), a nonprofit committed to providing affordable housing and resident services.
Affordable housing means that pricing will be set based on income levels, under the city’s inclusionary housing standards.
Under SLO’s “low income” guidelines, for example, the maximum sales price of a two-bedroom home would be $194,250 and monthly rent would be $1,181 per month.
The low income standard applies to families or individuals that earn 51% to 80% of the county’s median income.
But pricing varies based on specific, designated categories of inclusionary housing income levels, such as “extremely low,” “very low,” “low” and “moderate.”
SLO project could break ground in summer 2021
The Victoria mixed-use proposal includes eight three-bedroom, eight two-bedroom and 16 one-bedroom units, with flat roofs designed to incorporate solar panels.
The project is about 18 months away from completion if all goes as planned and it’s approved, said Scott Smith, HASLO’s executive director.
Smith said his team plans to apply for in-lieu development fees to help with the cost of the project.
Those are city-held fees funded through payments developers make when they choose to “pay a fee to the city or dedicate real property in lieu of constructing affordable dwellings” to meet SLO’s requirement to dedicate a portion of their new housing to deed-restricted units.
In-lieu fees would help HASLO leverage low-income housing tax credits, Smith said. If the city awards the nonprofit the fees, the project could potentially be developed sooner than the expected 18-month timeline to break ground, Smith added.
Developer asking for a height exception
HASLO presented the project to the city’s Architectural Review Commission (ARC) on Feb. 10 and will make some revisions to its original proposal before re-submitting.
The ARC’s comments included direction to fine-tune the building’s facade to break up long wall planes and reduce a large block appearance.
Recommendations also include incorporating pedestrian elements and smaller scale articulation at the street level and upper floors, said Shawna Scott, a senior SLO planner. Articulation refers to architectural changes in building depth for aesthetic qualities.
Other changes include incorporating additional awnings, balconies, and sun-screening elements, Scott said.
The ARC would also like incorporation of materials to pay homage to the past with “a blend of traditional and contemporary materials and influences pursuant to the South Broad Street Area Plan.”
“The ARC had some good suggestions regarding minor changes we might consider to the architectural design,” Smith said. “I think essentially some of them felt the design was a bit on the modern/contemporary side. We have met internally and will be working with our architect on some modifications and then will re-submit.”
The project is seeking a height of 47 feet, above the standard 40 feet limit in the South Broad Street Area Plan.
The proposed structure provides 25 parking spaces in a parking garage on the ground floor, with access to the garage from both Victoria and Humbert avenues, according to city officials.
The applicant has also included an outdoor courtyard and play area, community room, green walls and second story landscaping.
The design will need to go back to the ARC before eventual review by the Planning Commission.
Other SLO affordable housing projects in pipeline
In addition to the HASLO application, city advisory bodies have approved two additional new 100% affordable housing projects proposed by Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation, according to a city newsletter.
Broad Street Place, a planned project at 3720 Broad St., has been approved for 40 new affordable housing units, 10 of which are dedicated to “extremely low-income veterans.” The city approved a $1.3 million loan to the project.
Tiburon Place, located at 3750 Bullock Lane, “was approved for 68 units, and an Affordable Housing Fund award of $700,000,” city officials said.
The Tiburon Place and Broad Street Place homes consist of a range of pricing under three different low income categories. Costs would range from $459 per month rent or $56,700 to buy studios designated “extremely low income,” up to $1,181 in monthly rent or $194,250 sales prices for two-bedroom units under the “low income” category.
“These 108 units to be developed will provide much needed housing to extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households in the community,” SLO officials wrote.
The Broad Street development is expected to start construction on March 2021, and end construction in August 2022, according to John Fowler, Peoples’ Self-Help chief executive officer.
Tiburon Place is projected to start construction February 2021 and end in June 2022, Fowler added.
Peoples’ Self-Help planning 200 Central Coast homes per year
Peoples’ Self-Help, celebrating its 50th year this year, is also planning 70 affordable housing units as part of San Luis Ranch, and the organization wants to consolidate the units into one area, instead of scattering them throughout the site as originally planned under the city’s approved design, Fowler said.
“We hope consolidation will be better for the residents, and we will be able to better provide services,” Fowler said. “And we think it will provide more units, possibly beyond what the development is required to produce.”
Fowler said it’s hard to predict construction start and stop dates as it “only just going to Planning Commission on Wednesday.”
Just this week, Fowler announced his retirement from the organization, effective in August, after 10 years working for the nonprofit, seven of those as executive director.
Peoples’ Self-Help provides housing services in three counties (SLO, Santa Barbara, and Ventura) and will produce more than 200 units per year, under its strategic plan, Fowler said.
“We will race into the next 50 years and produce a lot of housing,” Fowler said.
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