Windsor Pointe to Offer Affordable Apartments to Veterans and People Experiencing Homelessness in Carlsbad, CA

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Affirmed Housing recently announced that it anticipates pulling its building permit for the long-awaited, affordable development, Windsor Pointe, in Carlsbad, CA by January 2021.  The project will serve low-income individuals and families, and people who are homeless or nearly homeless with mental illness. A strong preference will be given to veterans and their families.  Windsor Pointe has been in process since 2016, when Affirmed Housing purchased the properties from three sellers.  The project will be located on two sites: 3606, 3618, and 3630 Harding Street, and 965 and 967 Oak Avenue.  Windsor Pointe will offer much-needed affordable apartment homes to 48 vulnerable individuals and families.

Windsor Pointe
Windsor Pointe will consist of new and attractive Spanish Revival style buildings featuring red-tiled roofs, arched windows and doorways, and punctuated by new landscaping.  The Harding building will have 26 total apartments, and the Oak building will have 24.  One unit at each site will be reserved for an on-site manager.  Windsor Pointe will also offer professional on-site supportive services from qualified case managers who work with residents to access needed services.  Like their market-rate counterparts, all apartments will be rented for one year.  Windsor Pointe promises to bring inclusive and vibrant housing to the Barrio neighborhood of Carlsbad.  

Half Affordable Workforce Homes
Twenty-four (24) of the Windsor Pointe apartments will be offered to individuals and families earning 50-60 percent of the area median income (AMI). This workforce housing includes 12 studios, 7 one-bedroom, 3 two-bedrooms, and 2 three-bedroom apartment homes.

Half "No Place Like Home" Apartments
The other 24 apartments will be offered under the No Place Like Home program, which offers supportive housing to individuals and families who are homeless or near homeless (earning 25 percent or less of the AMI) with at least one person with a serious mental illness.  Families may qualify for the No Place Like Home program because of an adult's or a child's mental illness.  The program is sponsoring 12 studios, 9 one-bedroom, and 3 two-bedroom units at Windsor Pointe.  Applicants for the No Place Like Home apartments will be referred through the Coordinated Entry System (CES), operated by the Regional Taskforce on Homeless.  The CES and Affirmed Housing will prioritize referrals for homeless veterans and/or homeless in the City of Carlsbad. 

Jimmy Silverwood, Executive Vice President of Affirmed Housing, states, "The future residents of Windsor Pointe have the right to safe and affordable housing, and we believe this is a humanitarian right.  Without housing, people's mental health and physical well-being deteriorate further."  He adds, "We are honored to serve veterans and their families.  Whenever we have a veteran in our referral queue, we'll offer the vacant home to that veteran and their family first."

Need for Windsor Pointe
The San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless conducts an annual point-in-time count of the homeless population in San Diego County.  The 2020 survey, conducted in January, revealed a total of 7,658 people experiencing homelessness.  Of those, 904 people, or 12 percent were veterans.  Fifty-eight (58) percent of San Diego County's homeless population reported having a disability, of which 37 percent report a mental disability.

Not only does supportive housing like Windsor Pointe reduce homelessness, it also cuts governmental costs.  According to a 2017 RAND Corporation study of 890 people receiving permanent supportive housing in LA County, those living in supportive housing significantly reduced their use of public services—particularly emergency medical services and hospital care—resulting in a drastic savings for local governments.  In the year prior to housing, study participants received public services that averaged $38,146.  That figure fell to $15,358 the year after housing was received—a decline of nearly 60 percent.  Even after taking into account the cost of supportive housing, the savings to LA County was about 20 percent. 

Funding Partners
Affirmed Housing's funding partners include: The City of Carlsbad, the County of San Diego's No Place Like Home program, State and Federal tax credits, Bank of the West, and Raymond James. The project will cost approximately $30.7 million.

Affirmed Housing
Headquartered in San Diego, Affirmed Housing is dedicated to improving and sustaining the viability of California through the development of affordable housing.  The company aims at enhancing communities and our environment by building dynamic, professionally-managed, high-quality green multifamily housing.  Areas of expertise include site selection, engineering, architecture, construction, relocation, and marketing.  Affirmed also has extensive knowledge in public finance, low-income housing tax credit acquisition, and tax-exempt bond financing.  The company has financed over $1.4 billion in affordable development, with 4,200 units developed or under development in 55 communities.  For more information, visit www.affirmedhousing.com.

Contact: Beth Binger
BCIpr
(619) 987-6658
 [email protected]

SOURCE Affirmed Housing