By Voice & Viewpoint Newswire
Mayor Todd Gloria, Nick Manchione, San Diego County Agency Director and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of the Health, Housing, and Human Services Agency, David Estrella, San Diego County Director of Housing and Community Development Services joined CRP Affordable Housing and development partners E. Smith & Company, MAAC Project, and MirKa Development in a grand opening of Valencia Pointe, an impressive 102 unit affordable housing development in the O’Farrell neighborhood of Southeastern San Diego.
This apartment home development consists of four levels of 58 two-bedroom and 44 three-bedroom apartment homes over an enclosed parking structure. The 2.5 acre site is located on the northeast corner of Valencia Parkway and Division Street where United Missionary Baptist Church was previously located. 
Local and state leaders were key supporters of the development which received County, State, and federal funding and assistance including the County Innovative Housing Trust Fund, California Housing Finance Agency Senate Bill 2 mixed-income funds, and state and federal low-income housing tax credits.
“There is no problem bigger than our affordable housing crisis,” said Mayor Todd Gloria in addressing the grand opening attendees. “This is what I hear from San Diegans most about. The rent is too high. They can’t seem to foresee how to buy a home in this city.”
Valencia Pointe is a real solution to what is on the mind of San Diegans. The development is helping us create a more affordable city for all San Diego residents.
The new apartment homes designed for families contain fully equipped kitchens, enclosed laundry hook ups, balconies, and outside storage spaces. The landscape plan includes sizable open space on the southwest corner of the site.
The apartment homes surround a large interior courtyard designed to entice resident interaction in a secured environment. The common area includes a tot lot, outdoor kitchen space, and community space amenities consisting of a well-appointed kitchen space, a community room, a computer lab, bathrooms, and fully equipped laundry facilities.
In addition to the plaza courtyard, the development offers recreational facilities at the north end of the site to encourage residents to exercise and remain active. The creative architectural design features the use of attractive materials and colors along with the open breeze ways throughout the development that take advantage of the dramatic westerly ocean views.
The community will serve families earning up to 40%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income. In many instances, working families that will call Valencia Pointe home will now have additional income available to support their family. Over 3,000 rental applications were received for the 102 available apartment homes. It is anticipated that the 102 families that will call Valencia Pointe home will begin occupancy in August.
