ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Wanted: local nonprofits able to pull off low income or rapid housing projects quickly.

That’s what Orange County’s office of care coordination is in search of, as it calls for applications to bid for nearly $20 million in federal money over the next three years.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange County is looking for nonprofits who can get affordable housing projects done quickly

  • The county wants to capitalize on about $20 million that HUD has made available for Orange County applicants

  • Bids began Aug. 9 and remain open until Sept. 7

  • Supervisor Katrina Foley said HUD is likely to favor applications that will serve low or very low income applicants

That money comes from a total $322 million that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is spreading nationwide.

The money Orange County hopes to receive will likely be spread over three years, and add to the already hefty $29 million the county has annually to renovate old motels, or knockdown and replace aging apartment buildings.

But the key is speed.

“What we’re hearing is that the proposals that are the most competitive are those that will immediately house people and house people for a long time,” said Katrina Foley, 2nd district supervisor now running for the 5th district seat.

Bids began Aug. 9 and remain open until Sept. 7.

Foley and the rest of the supervisors are not involved in selecting the applicants. But her expectation is that rapid housing and permanent supportive housing will be prioritized during the application process. Once the county has selected the applicants, they will pass them on to HUD for selection.

County decision makers will have a lot of projects to choose from, many of them already underway or ready for the shovels to get started.

Affordable housing can be a controversial subject for local government. California lawmakers have mandated that each city increase affordable housing, but existing residents often push back. As homeless numbers have shot up, many city councils have become more determined with more residents relenting.

Now the county has a flood of programs in development initiated by a bevy of funding sources. Some come from the state, others from the federal government, with cities often speeding up permitting and other regulatory hurtles.

Santa Ana has 186 units over three developments in pre-development, mixing different kinds of housing like permanent supportive housing.

A project headed by Jamboree Housing Corporation recently broke ground at 18431 Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach. That project will accommodate a little over 41 people and is expected to cost $30.

Building costs and land in California make such projects expensive, but housing advocates hope that there will be over $1 billion available in the fall once the state locks in an anticipated budget surplus.

Smaller deals, like the money Orange County hopes it can help nonprofits secure, are likely more for completing or speeding up developments already in the works.

“There’s a whole, a whole lot that’s currently underway that could use more funding,” Foley said.