$50,000 Grant OKd for Housing Project

The City Council paved the way for construction of a low-income housing complex this week by voting to spend nearly $50,000 in federal grants for a West Newport project.

The 14-unit complex of four studios and 10 two-bedroom units was approved for the corner of 15th Street and Placentia Avenue. The project is expected to house about 24 people.

The complex is the sixth low-income housing project to be built in the city by Mesa Development Co., a Costa Mesa company that specializes in building such complexes. The project will be the first in the city to offer studio apartments for low-income residents.

The 400-square-foot studios are expected to rent for about $350 a month, City Planner Craig Bluell said.

To qualify as low-income by federal standards, one must earn less than $17,200 a year, according to Bluell. The figure is higher for households of more than one person.

At the request of Mayor Phil Sansone, the City Council also voted to specify that city employees will be given priority when prospective renters are considered.

Councilwoman Ruthelyn Plummer supported the project and suggested that the city and contractor work with the nearby Interfaith Housing Network to publicize the project among families or individuals living in shelters.

Mesa Development had sought $200,000 in funding to begin the project, and the city’s $50,000 grant gave the company enough money to proceed. Developers of the 28th Street Marina project, a luxury condominium development being built in the Cannery Village area, have promised to contribute $147,000 to the low-income housing complex.

That contribution is part of the developers’ agreement to build four low-income apartments in the city in return for council approval of the marina project.