Housing Authority Unveils Bella Vista Affordable Housing Project in Santa Barbara

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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.

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Chatter came from the newly built Bella Vista housing project’s sunny interior courtyard on Monday. Project stakeholders, politicians and other community members mingled around shrubs growing from sage green boxes in fresh mulch. The bright white farmhouse-style exterior of the apartments surrounded the group, which had met to cut a red ribbon to celebrate the project’s official opening. 

The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara’s Bella Vista provides 47 affordable units – a mix of one, two and three bedrooms – for folks who use affordable housing vouchers. 11 units will go to folks making 30 percent of the area’s median income, 22 will go to people making 50 percent AMI and 14 are for those making 60 percent AMI, or about $76,500 per year. No resident will spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. 

“That means that families who live here can have a safe, beautiful home without rent consuming nearly all of their income,” said Rob Fredericks, the executive director and CEO of the city’s housing authority. 

As part of Monday’s grand opening, community members toured apartments on each of Bella Vista’s three stories. Green and white front doors open-concept kitchen and living rooms. Kitchens have deep sinks and new appliances, including a dishwasher. The bathrooms include large vanities and tubs with showers. Latticed windows in the living space and bedrooms  ensure light filters into each unit. Ground floor apartments open onto a patio and second and third story apartments have wide patios. 

The building, which broke ground in February of 2025, still smells very faintly of fresh paint in its downstairs entrance, which leads to a semi-underground parking lot with 68 spaces. 

Providing more parking aimed to address concerns from local neighbors about how the new housing will impact the La Cumbre neighborhood, Fredericks said. Bella Vista is taller and larger than nearby single family homes and two-story commercial space. 

The housing authority said it hopes to fully lease the project by November 1. With a waiting list that’s about six years long on average, there’s a shortage of families looking for an affordable home.

The city’s housing authority purchased the property, a single-level office building,  200 North La Cumbre Road, in 2019. Dale Aazam, the housing authority’s Deputy Executive Director, said they got started on getting the approvals they needed to build there shortly after, along with giving the office tenants years of notice on the move: Aazam said the project secured its entitlement in 2023 and was ready to apply for low income tax credits. 

Low income tax credits are the primary funding mechanism for affordable housing for Santa Barbara’s city and county housing authorities. Companies can invest in affordable housing to reduce the amount of federal taxes they owe. 

Along with tax credit investor equity of more than $21 million, the project also received a $5 million loan from the City of Santa Barbara, a nearly $15 million permanent loan, (that’s a long term loan) and a little over $10 in other financial sources. All-told, that cost pencils out to just over $51 million. 

For Lisa Carlos, the chair of the housing authority’s Board of Commissioners, the housing authority’s work is just beginning. 

“During the course of this building’s lifetime, the Housing Authority will serve hundreds of families, not just 48, and thousands of people through the course of 100 years, providing them a dignified place to call home, while also helping them plant roots and thrive,” she said. 

Carlos said the county’s family service agency will offer on-site free classes, like English language classes to homebuyer education courses and parenting classes. 

At the grand opening event, community members clapped as Rob Fredericks told the crowd that the housing authority chose to call Bella Vista’s community room ‘the Lodge’ after former mayor, city planning commissioner and widely respected longtime Santa Barbara resident Sheila Lodge, who died this year. 

“Sheila believed Santa Barbara should be a community where every family could live in a beautiful, dignified home,” Fredericks said. “She pushed us; she always pushed us to keep working toward that vision, and we miss her dearly.” 

Fredericks said he thought she would be proud of Bella Vista, while still offering a few notes.