More Affordable Housing On Track for Santa Barbara’s Westside

City’s Housing Authority Plans to Replace and Add Affordable Units to Monteria Village

The current Monteria Village | Credit: Courtesy Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara

This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

You’ll find Monteria Village, 28 affordable apartments across nine buildings, on Rancheria Street, a short walk from Santa Cruz Market, the harbor, and Santa Barbara City College. The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara plans to replace these aging units and add more for a total of 52 new affordable apartments spread across four buildings.

Last month, the Ventura-based development company McCarthy Companies announced in a press release that it had signed a contract for preconstruction services with the Housing Authority that would “lay the groundwork” for the project. The company has worked on multifamily and affordable housing projects in the past.

Housing Authority CEO Rob Fredericks said that Monteria Village is one of the Housing Authority’s oldest public housing sites and is reaching its end of life. Starting in 2012, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allowed housing authorities to move existing public housing to another funding platform through a program called Rental Assistance Demonstration. That program allows housing authorities, like Santa Barbara’s, to expand affordable housing on land they already own and pay for capital improvements and expansion through sources not originally allocated to the units.

“Monteria Village represents a promise to our Westside community: replacing outdated buildings with safe, modern apartments that nearly double the number of families we can serve,” Fredericks said in the press release.

A rendering of the redesigned Monteria Village | Credit: Courtesy

All told, the project would include 16 one-bedroom units, 22 two-bedroom units, and 14 three-bedroom units, along with a community room, office areas and common spaces. Three of the four buildings are planned to be three stories, while the fourth, located on lower ground compared to surrounding properties, would stand at four stories. The authority plans to include 76 parking spaces — a slight reduction of the parking ratio, putting it at 1.46 spaces per unit, compared to 1.86.

Eighty percent of the units will be reserved for households making no more than 60 percent of the area’s median income, or $97,550 for a family of four. The rest will be for folks making no more than 80 percent of the area’s median income.

Fredericks said that about 70 percent of the project’s financing would come from a low-income housing tax credit. The Housing Authority will apply when the project is nearly shovel-ready — if awarded the tax credit, they have 180 days to break ground.

Next up, the project will need to gain final design approval and begin building plans. Fredericks said he estimates the project is about two years out from breaking ground.