Stockton City Council approves $1.3 million for affordable senior housing complex
As more senior citizens face homelessness, affordable housing developers in Stockton are trying to build more units to help meet demand.
Stockton City Council unanimously approved a $1.3 million grant from the Community Development Block Grant Program. The money will be given to Delta Community Developers Corp., a nonprofit instrumentality of the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin, for the purchase of property located at 6303 and 6304 Danny Drive in north Stockton.
The property will be converted into a 110-unit affordable senior housing complex.
"When we're out in the community, we'll hear from constituents all the time, that one of the things on the top of the list when it comes to feedback as it relates to housing is the great concern for our aging senior population and having the housing in Stockton to meet their needs," Mayor Kevin Lincoln said. "This will contribute to that significantly."
Construction is expected to begin in March 2025.
When completed, the complex will house residents who are 62 and over, according to agenda documents. Units will be available to low-income and very low-income seniors with incomes no higher than 50% of San Joaquin County's median income, which was $31,000 for individuals in 2020.
A portion of the units will be reserved for seniors who are at risk of homelessness.
A 2019 study of aging homeless people led by the University of Pennsylvania projected that the U.S. population of those 65 and over experiencing homelessness will nearly triple from 40,000 to 106,000 by 2030.
Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin is also proposing to provide rental assistance for all residents of the new complex through rental subsidy from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Project Based Voucher (PBV) program.
Funding the Danny Drive project
The Danny Drive complex will be built in two phases. The first 55-unit phase is estimated to cost $29 million, according to Juan Gonzalez, Stockton's housing manager.
Developers are unsure when construction will be completed and when residents can move in as the project has yet to be fully funded.
Peter Ragsdale, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin, said his organization would seek all eligible funding sources to fill the funding gap.
"We compete up and down the Valley for tax credits," Ragsdale said. "Another component is the state is looking at a $68 billion deficit ... there's going to be a reduction in affordable housing dollars."
In a new $291 billion state spending plan for the 2024-25 budget year, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed more than $1.2 billion in cuts from housing programs.
"We have a moment in time where the city is giving us a great start," Ragsdale said. "Hopefully there'll be a NOFA this year from the state for certain types of funding that would support this project, but at this point, it's a little bit unknowable."
The project comes on the heels of several housing developments in the county.
Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin recently celebrated the opening of Sonora Square, a $14.6 million housing project. Sonora Square provides 38 units of housing for mental health clients experiencing homelessness. The housing authority is slated to break ground on another housing project in February.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Affordable senior housing complex gets support from Stockton council
