San Diego County, MTS put up surplus land for affordable housing – The San Diego Union-Tribune

County and transportation officials announced Monday they have identified nine more properties where developers can begin building affordable housing.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher was joined by Sharon Cooney, CEO of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, and David Estrella, director of San Diego County Housing and Community Development Services, for a press conference Monday at the former Northeast Family Resources Center, one of the nine properties identified as surplus, government-owned properties.

The surplus properties, three of which are owned by the county and six by MTS, have been labeled “underutilized,” totaling more than 13 acres that have become available for housing development.

“Access to affordable housing is at crisis levels right now,” Fletcher said. “We want to do everything we possibly can to find solutions, to find locations and find ways that we can invest in building affordable housing right here in San Diego County.”

San Diego County and MTS officials are working together to identify land across the county that could be converted into affordable housing developments. They will be accepting proposals from developers to create affordable housing on the parcels.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors voted to designate three county-owned properties as surplus land, so they can be developed into affordable housing.

Two properties are located in the city of San Diego: the former Northeast Family Resource Center at 5001 73rd Street in the College Area and a property located at 6255 Mission Gorge Road in the Grantville area. Both properties have existing structures that will be demolished in late 2022, at a cost of about $1.29 million, before they are turned over to developers, county officials said.

The third county-owned property is vacant land located at 600-620 East Valley Parkway in Escondido, where the former North Inland Family Resource Center stood.

The remaining properties are owned by MTS and include triangle lots adjacent to the 12th & Imperial Transit Center and lots currently used as station parking at the 47th Street Trolley Station, the 70th Street Trolley Station, the Amaya Trolley Station, and the Massachusetts Trolley Station, along with additional development at the Riverwalk site in Mission Valley.

“We want to make sure that we are a part of the solution to such a major issue and challenge that is affecting our county,” Cooney said. “MTS really wants to help spur economic development within the community, but … these folks will also be future transit riders, and so it’s really important for us to provide them with a safe place where they can access transit.”

Mark Olsen, manager of public relations at MTS, said MTS is working on a comprehensive parking study for each site, which will determine what the parking replacement requirements are for each one.

Cooney says MTS has an additional 11 parcels that are either under contract or under negotiation to become affordable housing developments. The locations are on www.sdmts.com/real-estate.

Fletcher also said that county staff is expected to bring more county properties to the Board of Supervisors to request they be designated as surplus later this year.

The county has other ongoing efforts to increase the number of affordable housing units in the region.

The Board of Supervisors recently approved $23 million to support four projects that will construct 421 units of housing for seniors, people with disabilities, the homeless or those at risk of being homeless, and people with behavioral health challenges located in Ramona, Clairmont, San Ysidro and Vista.

The county has also contributed $14 million for 407 new affordable units at the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Villa in East Village, $6.25 million to build 100 affordable housing units for low-income individuals and families in San Marcos, and $10 million on a 50-unit senior apartment complex in Escondido for older people who are homeless and have a serious mental illness.

Also, the county has invested a total of $70 million on the Innovative Housing Trust Fund and its No Place Like Home funding will total nearly $130 million for regionwide housing development.