Paso Robles opens 69 new units of affordable housing — and more for seniors are on the way
The first phase of one of the largest housing developments currently under construction in San Luis Obispo County wrapped up with a grand opening in Paso Robles on Tuesday afternoon.
Just over 18 months ago, builders broke ground on Sunrise Villas in the Viñedo master-planned community.
Residents earning 30% to 60% of the area median income in San Luis Obispo County were eligible for the project — though when the application window closed in late 2024, there was nothing left to be leased, according to Paso Robles Housing Authority executive director Loni Willey.
By the time of its March grand opening, all 69 units of affordable housing were fully leased out to Paso Robles families — and that’s just the tip of the demand, Willey said.
“We have 1,000 people on the waitlist,” Willey said. “It’s really hard to think we’ve done so much, and we have so much more to do.”
First phase of Viñedo now complete
The shared project between the Paso Robles Housing Authority and Affordable Housing Development Corp. is the first stage of Viñedo’s 1,233-unit housing development,also known as the Olsen-South Chandler Specific Plan.
The 3.01-acre footprint of Sunrise Villas was donated to the Housing Authority by developer Olsen 212 LLC, which will develop the tracts of housing yet to come over the next decade.
Across Sunrise Villa’s three residential buildings, one-bedroom units range between 696 and 861 square feet, while two-bedroom units fall between 1,032 and 1,116 square feet, and three-bedroom units range between 1,197 and 1,415 square feet.
Single people applying for an apartment would need to make $24,330 to $48,660 a year to be eligible.
A household of two would need to earn $27,810 to $55,620 annually to qualify, while a household of three would qualify with annual income of $31,290 to $62,580.
At the highest capacity, a household of seven would need to make $43,080 to $86,160 a year to qualify.
All told, the project cost around $36.5 million, with Tri Counties Bank making a permanent loan of $6.4 million, the San Luis Obispo Housing Trust Fund contributing $1.2 million and the city of Paso Robles adding $1.7 million to supplement $24.5 million in tax credits from the state, Doyle said in 2023 at the project’s groundbreaking.
With Sunrise Villas complete, Affordable Housing Development Corp. executive vice president Laurie Doyle said she’s looking forward to seeing more affordable housing come online in Paso Robles at the upcoming May opening of River Walk Terrace, a 78-unit affordable housing complex for seniors on Niblick Road.
“I’ve been working down here for a better part of a decade, so now we have this great city and public-private partnership that we’ve established,” Doyle said. “Hopefully, we continue to do more deals here.”
Until then, Willey and her organization will focus on getting the 269 new residents of Sunrise Villa settled and feeling at home.
“They moved in the last week of January, so they’ve had a chance to settle in for about six weeks, and we’re hearing really good things so far,” Willey said. “Our resident service staff has already started doing some programs with the kids and families on Saturdays, so it’s a really great chance to start making community.”
