LAGUNA BEACH : Housing to Be Built for Those With AIDS

After four years of planning, construction will begin this fall on a project to provide low-cost housing in Laguna Beach for people with the AIDS virus.

A $715,000 federal grant, approved this week by the Santa Ana City Council, has removed the final major hurdle in transforming the former GTE building on Mermaid Street into a 25-unit apartment complex.

Federal law requires that the county’s most populous city administer Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Program grants, such as the one awarded to Affordable Housing Project of Orange County Inc., the group handling the Laguna Beach project.

The Santa Ana City Council unanimously approved the grant Monday.

The project was earlier awarded a $2-million Housing and Urban Development grant.

Work on the apartment building--the first housing project of its kind in Orange County--is to begin in October.

The homes should be ready for tenants by next summer, Reed Flory, financial and development consultant for the project, said Wednesday.

“We fully expect to close the HUD loan on or before Sept. 29,” Flory said. “We would then begin construction the next working day.”

Once the completion date is firm, a managing group will begin accepting applications from disabled individuals, giving priority to people with the AIDS virus.

Project backers have said that studies show eight to 10 people will be waiting for each of the available apartment units.

Laguna Beach, which has by far the highest per-capita incidence of AIDS in the county, has agreed to contribute $605,000 to the project.