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Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Awards Finalist: Celadon at 9th and Broadway
June 23, 2016
Location: San Diego, CA
Developer: BRIDGE Housing Corporation
Partners: SVA Architects, Studio E Architects, Turner Construction Company, BRIDGE Property Management Company
Celadon at 9th and Broadway is a multigenerational high-rise apartment building in a redeveloping area on the eastern side of downtown San Diego. The 17-story building consists of 250 apartments and 5,800 sq. ft. of ground floor retail. Among Celadon’s apartments, 25 are reserved for youth aging out of foster care and adults under the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) program, while 63 apartments serve frail seniors under the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). The remainder are affordable for households with income up to 60 percent of area median income (AMI).
The project is the first development in California to combine 4% and 9% tax credits vertically in a single building, an innovation which has since been replicated. The 9% credit phase on floors 1 through 7 provides 129 apartments, 88 of which are supportive housing. The 4% credit phase on floors 8 through 17 consists of 121 apartments targeted at household incomes of 40 percent, 50 percent, and 60 percent of AMI. Additional sources of project support include land from the city of San Diego, a loan committed by the former redevelopment agency, and additional financing from the California Department of Housing and Community Development Multifamily Housing Program, the MHSA Housing Program, and the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program.
The location in a redeveloping section of downtown near a major transit corridor offers low- and moderate-income workers an affordable option in San Diego’s high-priced rental market. For the property’s special needs populations, the property’s convenience is amplified with on-site resident services. Providence Community Services provides services for the property’s transitional-age youth. For the adults in supportive housing units, services are provided by Community Research Foundation. St. Paul’s PACE is the development’s partner for its frail elderly residents.
The development, which has a drought-tolerant roof garden, solar hot water, and a 143-foot-tall solar photovoltaic wall, achieved LEED Gold certification.