Construction Begins on Florida Street HousingWorks Apartments

For many years there were rotting bungalows along Florida Street, between University Avenue and Robinson Avenue. The San Diego Housing Authority gave a loan of $4,900,000 over two years ago to Florida Street Housing Associates, L.P. This paid for the one-acre site at 3783-3825 Florida Street. The slums were torn down in 2010, and the site has been protected by a chain link fence ever since.

On August 2, construction began on the affordable Florida Street Apartments, a partnership with the nonprofit Community HousingWorks of Escondido. The tax credit investor limited partner is Union Bank, a “$50,000 and above” contributor to Community HousingWorks in 2010.

Here's the good news. There will be a new 83-unit low-income apartment complex in North Park in about 16 months. The 24 one-, 33 two- and 26 three-bedroom apartments will rent for $727 to $1,118 a month, considerably below market rate.

But low-income housing projects in San Diego have been criticized for costing too much. The Housing Authority reports total development costs to be $31 million. Funds are coming from the four-percent tax credits, tax-exempt housing bonds, and financing from the housing commission and San Diego Redevelopment Agency.

Stephen Brown owns a condo on Florida Street, south of the site. Brown said, “I'm glad that some decent housing will replace the dirt lot, dirt being an improvement over the terrible shacks previously on the property.”

Proposed sustainable features in the four-story wood-frame structure include “photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency central boilers, and enhanced unit ventilation.”