Outta here: Homes become houses on wheels

The City of San Diego has removed two single-family homes from Academy of Our Lady of Peace–owned property, per a previous consent decree. The removal had been ordered to occur by May 1, 2014. The two houses were transported temporarily to an empty parking lot at the former AT&T building, at the northeast corner of Texas Street and Howard Avenue.

A posted notice from a representative for District 3 councilmember Todd Gloria says the homes will be moved later to the city's Chollas Operations Yard, located at 2700 Caminito Chollas.

From a statement issued by the San Diego Public Works Department, “The long term plan is for the homes to continue their lives as residences after final locations are determined and environmental review is completed.” Public Works also explained they “should be moved by the middle of June to Chollas. The storage area has been leased for the period of three months to accommodate the storage period of the houses: $3,000 for the first month and $1,000 for each of the following months.”

The lot is now surrounded by a chain-link privacy fence. That's for security reasons, due to transients previously camping outside the fence but on the grounds of the empty building.

The block-long property is now owned by Community HousingWorks (CHW), with future development on the calendar. The organization's vice president, Dave Gatzke, said, “CHW was pleased to be able to help the City of San Diego preserve this asset.”

Matt Potter previously reported in his February 2013 Reader story that Academy of Our Lady of Peace was allowed to proceed with its planned expansion, and it received $500,000 in a case settlement with the city. Councilmembers Todd Gloria and Sherri Lightner voted against that consent decree.