Father Joe’s Villages and Chelsea Investment announced Friday a joint effort to build a 14-story building downtown with 273 affordable apartments for the homeless.
The planned development at the northeast corner of 13th Street and Broadway will be a mixed-use project that also includes a new Head Start center.
“In this time of crisis, it remains clear that the true end to a person’s homelessness is a home,” said Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s. “For the families and individuals who move into these apartments, access to the support they need right in the same building means they can maintain stability and avoid experiencing homelessness again or prevent it altogether.”
Local architect Joseph Wong Design Associates will design the building, which will have 49 one- and two-bedroom units and 224 studios, underground parking, picnic and barbecue areas and a rooftop deck.
The site, which the city has already designated for affordable housing, is near the City College trolley station. A long-awaited new fire station will also be built adjacent to the property.
To ensure that families and individuals can remain in their affordable apartments, Father Joe’s Villages will coordinate supportive services such as medical care, vocational training and counseling.
“This mixed-use approach at 13th and Broadway means we are able to get creative to meet the needs of the community,” said Jim Schmid, CEO of Chelsea Investment, which since 1984 has developed 10,228 units of affordable housing.
Construction is expected to begin in mid-2020 and be completed in mid-2022.