SAN FERNANDO : Agency OKs Plans for Seniors’ Housing

As a way of boosting an economically depressed area of the city, the San Fernando Redevelopment Agency has approved plans for a 16-unit subsidized housing complex for senior citizens.

The city will donate the land, located at 222 Jessie St., and provide $381,668 in subsidies to the developer, according to city reports. Seniors will be able to rent the apartments for $439 per month.

Monday’s approval came despite complaints from two seniors that the neighborhood, bordering San Fernando Recreation Park, is too dangerous.

Some members of the agency--which is composed solely of San Fernando City Council members--worried that the subsidy was too high. But the subsidy--about $35,000 per unit--is well below the norm for such housing, which typically approaches $100,000, said Robert Kishita, associate planner with the city’s Community Development Department. The money will come from the city’s redevelopment housing set-aside fund.

“This will not break the bank of the housing fund,” City Administrator Mary Strenn said. “It will fill a very important niche.”

By federal law, the redevelopment agency must ensure that 15% of all private redevelopment provides affordable housing, and that almost half of that be earmarked for very low incomes. The Jessie Street properties should meet the latter requirement, Kishita said.

The agency has owned the Jessie Street property since 1989. The developer whose proposal was selected Monday night, Trooper Enterprises Inc., plans to construct two buildings with four apartments each, and duplicate that complex on his own land on the same block, at 202 Jessie St., for a total of 16 units.

Before passing the proposal, the agency added an amendment that the developer ensure that prospective renters are current residents of San Fernando.

Jessie Street and surrounding areas have been a focus of the agency’s redevelopment efforts for several years, Kishita said. The housing project would be the first new construction on the block in more than a decade. A selection committee recommended the proposal because of design characteristics that include Spanish tile roofs, open garden and patio areas, and a sun deck that overlooks the park, Kishita said.

“There’s a community benefit,” said Mayor Daniel Acuna, an agency member. “The only way you can change the face of that area is through a project like this.”