Modular Construction Speeds Pace
Construction has started on an apartment complex near Camarillo that will provide affordable housing to older adults.
“Housing the community’s most vulnerable seniors is a priority, and this development with the wraparound services will provide stability and dignity to those in their later years who have limited financial resources,” said Linda Fisher Helton, community relations manager for the Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura. “And it doesn’t matter why or how they have found themselves homeless or at risk of homelessness.”
The $38-million project known as Rancho Sierra Apartments was conceptually approved by the county Board of Supervisors in June 2020 and is a collaboration among nonprofit Many Mansions, the Area Housing Authority and Ventura County Behavioral Health. The largest source of funding is federal tax credits.
Located in the 1700 block of S. Lewis Road just outside city limits, the complex will include one two-bedroom unit for a property manager and 49 one-bedroom units allocated for extremely low-income seniors, with half for homeless seniors.
Rick Schroeder, president of affordable housing provider Many Mansions, said individuals 62 and older are the fastest growing demographic of Ventura County’s homeless population.
“We’re hoping to have a huge impact,” he said. “People probably aren’t aware that much of our homeless population is now elderly people—the people who are the most vulnerable and the ones who are really struggling.”
Rent will be equivalent to 30% of residents’ income, with the remaining amount paid with Section 8 vouchers.
Residents will have access to county-provided services targeted toward their age bracket that address the root causes of homelessness, Schroeder said. These include nutrition workshops and assistance with healthcare and other government benefits.
Completion is expected as early as April 2024.
Rancho Sierra Apartments is the first housing development in the county to be built using modular development.
Since the May 31 groundbreaking, several modules have been delivered, and the prefabricated apartments will likely be assembled into one building on the 2-acre, county-owned plot in August. The technique will cut construction time by about six months.
“It definitely is going to speed up the project, and that’s going to be one of the major benefits,” Schroeder said. “We hope that if it does work out well, this is something that we and other affordable housing developers can use in other places.”
A potential second phase of the project would involve building additional affordable apartments on the remaining land.
The housing authority will begin accepting applications 8 a.m. Aug. 8 at onlineportal.ahacv.org for the project-based voucher rental assistance program. A random lottery drawing will determine applicants’ placement on the waitlist. For assistance, contact (805) 480-6010 or email WL.info@ahacv.org.
Article originally appeared at the Camarillo Acorn (click to read full story).