Housing Choice Vouchers

From the San Diego Housing Commission's press release:

 The long-vacant former site of a City of San Diego public library will be transformed into nearly 60 affordable rental apartments for families through the development of Serra Mesa Apartments, which celebrated its groundbreaking today. Half of the apartments will be set aside for veterans experiencing homelessness.

“I think this project is particularly poetic. It's focused on veterans. Many of you know that Serra Mesa has long been home to many of our region’s military families. We have incredible military housing, literally across the street. Serra Mesa has long supported San Diego's role as America's premier military town,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “And so, the integration of this project that has this emphasis on veterans really is a continuation of the story of this great community.”

For 55 years, rents for the 59 affordable rental units at Serra Mesa Apartments will remain affordable for San Diegans with incomes ranging from 30 to 60 percent of the San Diego Area Median Income, up to $79,380 per year for a two-person household.

“When families don’t have to worry as much about affording their rent each month, they have a better chance to thrive by focusing more on their career, schooling, health and their family life,” said Colin Miller, SDHC’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development.

SDHC awarded 30 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Project-Based Housing Vouchers toward the development to assist eligible veterans, who will also receive on-site supportive services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System.

These VASH vouchers are tied directly to the development, so that when a resident moves on, the voucher remains at the site to help another eligible veteran family move into affordable rental housing.

SDHC also awarded a $2.5 million loan toward the development, consisting of federal and local funds that SDHC administers for the City of San Diego: the City of San Diego Affordable Housing Fund and federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The development is also part of the City’s Homes for All of Us Initiative to create housing for San Diegans of all income levels and includes a $4 million loan from the City of San Diego’s Bridge to Home program.

The development of the former library site, which sat vacant for 20 years, was also made possible by a 65-year land lease from the City of San Diego to the developer, Community HousingWorks (CHW).

“We are transforming this former library from one community asset to a different type of community asset in terms of providing affordable housing for folks most in need,” CHW President & CEO Sean Spear said. “And then we’re also transforming lives—the notion of being able to support residents, some of whom may be formerly homeless, and giving them not only a chance to really live comfortably in a well-built home, but also truly to thrive with the layering of services that we're going to be providing for them for free.”

The VA will provide on-site services to veteran households, such as health and case management services, connections to health and food resources.

CHW will also provide on-site services for all residents of the community at no cost, which may include financial success training, multigenerational success and health and wellness programs and services.

The development, which is expected to open in fall of 2027, will include 56 one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units, and one unrestricted two-bedroom manager’s unit.

The development will consist of a five-story building, including a 22-space parking garage on the first floor, along with a 1,012-square-foot community room space, a computer lab, laundry facilities. The second floor will have a 2,765-square-foot courtyard.

The Serra Mesa library closed in 2006, upon the opening of the Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa Branch Library on Aero Drive less than a mile away.

Nearby amenities include options for retail, transit, and parks as well as public schools, and the Kearny Mesa Veterans Affairs outpatient center, which is less than a quarter mile to the north on Aero Drive.

From the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's press release:

Last week, the Minneapolis City Council approved a funding agreement enabling MPHA to begin administering a new city-funded Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program, modeled after the successful but sunsetting federal EHV program. This program will provide targeted rental assistance in partnership with Hennepin County’s Continuum of Care for individuals and families who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or have a high risk of housing instability.

The new city-funded EHV will provide up to 36 months of rental assistance for up to 100 households. The program has a goal of enrolling 50 individuals and 50 families.

“This new program offers a lifeline to some of our most vulnerable neighbors at a time of competing housing and homelessness crises in our city,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “I am thankful to Councilmember Wonsley and Council Vice President Osman for leading the city’s investment in this proven solution. Agency staff are eager to get this new funding in the hands of individuals and families most in need and to help address our community’s housing affordability challenges.”

The new city-funded EHV program was first established by Councilmembers Robin Wonsley and Jamal Osman in the City of Minneapolis’ 2025 budget. Following a series of challenges to establish a funding agreement in 2025, the program was excluded from Mayor Frey’s proposed 2026 budget. Councilmember Wonsley subsequently led an effort to amend the City of Minneapolis’ 2026 budget, initially restoring the $1.4 million in annual funding for the program. The City Council later amended this proposal, changing the structure to a three-year, $1 million-a-year pilot program (appropriating $2,091,786 in 2026, with 2027 and 2028 city budgets projected to include additional funding).

To be eligible for this new program, households will need to be assessed and referred through Hennepin County’s Coordinated Entry System. Once a participant household is referred to MPHA and approved for participation, households will be offered wrap-around case management services provided by Hennepin County and county-contracted providers, including housing coordination and placement within the City of Minneapolis, up to $3,500 in assistance from MPHA to help address any obstacles in both finding and moving into stable housing, and ongoing rental assistance from MPHA to maintain housing stability for up to three years.

This unique combination of benefits mirrors the federal EHV program and are intended to increase access and remove barriers for unhoused individuals and families facing the most immediate housing challenges.

While the new program will issue 36-month vouchers, the 36 months of rental assistance may not occur over 36 consecutive months. Based on the federal EHV program, vouchers are expected to be administered for up to five years due to initial placement timelines (on average, it takes approximately six months from program enrollment for a household to find a rental unit) as well as accommodating pauses because of participant rehousing needs. When a placed household wants or is required to move without a new unit under lease, voucher use is paused until a new unit is secured. This allowance can push the actual administration of the voucher beyond 36 months.

The agency anticipates issuing its first EHV on or around June 1, with the placement of all 100 available EHVs estimated to take 18 months from the first issuance.