New affordable housing project to finally break ground in coastal SLO County town
After nearly three decades without any new affordable housing development, a long-delayed project finally has the funding to break ground in Cambria.
Cambria Pines Apartments, a People’s Self-Help Housing affordable housing complex that’s been in the works for around 20 years, received the final piece of funding needed to break ground this winter, CEO Ken Triguiero said.
With a total of 33 units — eight for people experiencing homelessness and 25 for families — the project would be the first new affordable housing in Cambria since the 1997 completion of the housing nonprofit’s 24-unit Schoolhouse Lane property near Santa Lucia Middle School, which is adjacent to Cambria Pines’ proposed location.
The $1 million final piece of the funding puzzle came from an Affordable Housing Program grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, part of more than $66 million dollars in awards announced by the bank on Monday.
People’s Self-Help Housing also received an award of $840,000 to get the Rolling Hills III project over the hump in Templeton, Triguiero said.
“We did the last affordable housing project right next to where this one will be located — that’s the last affordable housing that Cambria has had, but that was done in 1997, so it’s just been such a need,“ Triguiero said. “We know and knew how much demand there was, so it feels really great that the community could now have some new affordable housing.”
Cambria Pines Apartments to break ground this year
Though the project has been in the “approved” stage since 2019, a slew of delays kicked the project down the line.
It took longer than expected to assemble the funding streams, and the project faced issues receiving a water allocation from the Cambria Community Services District, Triguiero said.
The project was also appealed to the California Coastal Commission by a trio of residents in 2019, who argued that the town lacked sufficient water to support it, but that appeal ultimately fell short.
Triguiero said the project’s $30 million price tag is split between 13 different financing services, from low-income housing tax credits, county funds, state allocations and now a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank.
Most recently, in June last year the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors awarded the project $1.3 million from the county’s Senate Bill 1090 funding pool — funds generated from the 2018 Diablo Canyon Joint Proposal settlement.
Within the project’s 33 units, four one-bedroom units, 19 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units are planned, with the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo providing eight project-based vouchers to keep units affordable long-term, according to data from People’s Self-Help Housing.
Units will feature basic amenities such as refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers, along with a community center, learning center, laundry room, outdoor playground and walking path, according to data from People’s Self-Help Housing.
At the start of last year, around 100 households were on the waiting list for the existing Schoolhouse Lane apartments, and another 187 households were waiting for the yet-to-be-constructed complex, according to data provided by People’s Self-Help Housing.
Funding in hand, the People’s Self-Help housing aims to break ground at the end of this year, with units coming online before the end of 2028.
By the time it opens, it will have been at least 31 years since the most recent affordable housing project — the neighboring 24-unit Schoolhouse Lane Apartments — opened.
“The timeline worked out such that we don’t need to redo any plans or anything at this point,” Triguiero said. “It’s all permit-ready, and now we’ve just got the final sources of financing in place, so we’re ready to go.”
Rolling Hills III project getting underway this year
Meanwhile, the planned Rolling Hills III affordable housing project in Templeton is now on track to meet similar groundbreaking and opening times after getting the necessary funding.
In 2024, the Board of Supervisors committed $1.2 million to the 28-unit development, which will include seven units for people at risk of homelessness.
Rolling Hills I and II contain a total of 52 affordable rental units for low-income families in Templeton, with People’s Self-Help Housing acquiring the most recent expansion in 2018, Triguiero said.
Located on the corner of Las Tablas Road and Bennett Way, the project is set to break ground in the beginning of 2027, and will take around two years to complete, Triguiero said.
“It’s really needed, especially unincorporated areas,” Triguiero said. “There’s not a whole lot of new product that comes out, so it’s great when we can get this stuff done.”
