SAN DIEGO — More than 100 new apartments opened for low-income older adults, using a new model to solve the homeless crisis across Southern California.
Every step Earl Deshazer takes at Levant Senior Cottages feels like a new beginning. The 67-year-old ran his own business and never planned on retiring until he was diagnosed with cancer.
Deshazer has been struggling to afford a place to live in San Diego while recovering. He was thrilled to get an apartment at Levant Senior Cottages, an affordable housing development with 127 units dedicated to older adults.
“I have an oven. I haven’t had an oven in five years," Deshazer said. "I’ve already told them the first thing I’m going to cook is cornbread, and since I’m from Dallas, Texas, I put jalapenos in mine.”
Now, Deshazer will pay less than $400 a month to live here. He’s ready to move out of his less-than-ideal apartment in downtown San Diego so his three granddaughters can visit.
“I have a place, here, that I’m not ashamed to bring them to,” he said.
Rebecca Louie is the CEO of Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer. She said this project is the first of eleven affordable housing communities that will be built on unused land owned by the County of San Diego.
“So this was underutilized land that [the County of San Diego] owned. It was one of their administration buildings that had been closed down. It had just been sitting here vacant," Louie said. "They made an incredible choice to use it for affordable senior housing. And so fast forward, here we are today celebrating these 127 new homes.”
As they welcome seniors into their new homes, Louie said this collaborative model is necessary to solve the growing housing crisis among older adults. While living at Levant Senior Cottages, residents will benefit from Wakeland’s continuous offerings, which include a wide range of onsite personal and professional development services and social activities provided by the nonprofit. Residents also will be able to access medical and social services provided by St. Paul’s PACE.
The Regional Task Force on Homelessness found close to 30% of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego are 55 and older. Louie said residents here will pay approximately 30% of their income toward rent, ranging from $600 to $1,200, with supplemental housing vouchers available.
“The average social security income in San Diego is $1,500 a month, if you work until you’re 65; the average studio apartment is $1,900 a month. So the math just doesn’t work for them," she said. "Something like this is a safety net for them.”
Deshazer is already thinking about how he wants to decorate while enjoying his first cup of coffee inside his new apartment.
“I can hang my granddaughter’s pictures up finally, and they’ll stay,” he said. “We’ve discovered that new word that I haven’t used in a very long time: home.”
The County of San Diego owns the 4.57 acres of land that Levant Senior Cottages lies on, and is leasing the property to Wakeland for the next 70 years. Rent is set at $1 per year plus $10,000 in annual administrative and monitoring fees. This allows for all units to remain affordable.
Levant marks the first of 11 development projects to open doors as a result of the County of San Diego’s initiative, and the first of three between the county and Wakeland. In the near future, Wakeland will build three others on excess county land, including two in the Grantville area, which will house families and a complex for seniors in Ramona.