Nuns Plan 2 Housing Projects for Poor, Elderly : Oxnard: Mercy Charities hopes to alleviate shortage of low-cost units. It is asking the city to donate up to $2 million.

A consortium of nuns wants to build two housing projects in downtown Oxnard across from the current site of Oxnard High School, and they are asking the city to share part of the expected $12.4-million cost.

Mercy Charities--a nonprofit developer comprising the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Josephs of Peace and other religious congregations--said the proposed developments would help alleviate a shortage of low-cost housing in Oxnard that is hurting the elderly and poor families.

“There is a big need for the family housing project,” said Sister Carmen Rodriguez of the Sisters of Mercy convent in Oxnard. “I talk to families all the time that are being evicted because they are living in a garage, because there are five families living in a house. People are sleeping where the living room should be.”

The sisters, who have built or are currently proposing developments in 10 California counties, are expected to present plans for a 64-unit family housing project and a 40-unit development for seniors to the Oxnard City Council on Dec. 20.

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They will ask the city for a contribution of less than $1 million for each project, said Sister Diane Clyne of the San Francisco-based consortium.

The townhouse developments would be located on a five-acre site at Hobson Way and 5th Street across from the First Baptist Church of Oxnard and could be completed by 1996, Clyne said.

“Our concept is building a community, not two separate projects,” Clyne said. “The integration of seniors and family has been very successful in San Francisco and other areas.”

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez supports the nuns’ plan to build low-cost homes and said he even wrote a letter to assist their fund-raising efforts.

But it would be impossible for the city to contribute anywhere near $2 million to the project, he said.

“I think that we do need housing for seniors and low-income housing,” Lopez said. “As far as money is concerned, however, our capability to fund projects themselves is very limited. . . . We’re up to our ears in requests.”

Mercy Charities submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for money to build and operate a federally subsidized housing project for the elderly at the site, which was approved in October.

The nuns were given about $3 million to develop the homes, which must be sold to senior citizens whose income is 80% of the county median or less.

And more HUD money will probably come in later to run and maintain the project, Clyne said. The median income for Ventura County in 1990 was $40,400.

The elderly housing project is expected to cost about $3.8 million, and Mercy Charities is in the process of acquiring the land from its current owner, the Swift Foundation, she said.

“It looks real positive,” said Oxnard Housing Director Sal Gonzales. “We are pleased that they were able to get funds from HUD.”

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Meanwhile the nuns are hoping to finance the family housing project, which is expected to cost $8.6 million, with money obtained from state and federal low-income housing programs. To garner the financing, the homes would have to be sold to families whose income is 60% of the county median or less.

The land for the development has been donated by Oxnard’s St. John’s Regional Medical Center to Mercy Charities, Clyne said.

The Sisters of Mercy sponsor a statewide health-care ministry that includes St. John’s and have been a part of the Oxnard community since the turn of the century. If the project is approved by the City Council, Sister Carmen Rodriguez and other local nuns plan to encourage the city’s poor and elderly residents to apply.