Family-Focused $20.8 Million Affordable Apartment Complex Opens in California

By Erin Brereton, Content ManagerMerced, Calif.–Growing families in Merced, Calif. have a new housing option–the Sunny View Apartments, a 113-unit affordable apartment community that will celebrate its grand opening Wednesday, Jan. 16.The $20.8 million project was developed by Long Beach, Calif.-based Simpson Housing Solutions LLC and partner AMG & Associates of Santa Clarita, Calif. Western Community Housing, Inc., headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., served as general partner on the project. Maple Dell McClelland Architects, a Solana Beach, Calif.-based firm with a history of creating affordable housing communities that mirror market-rate rental housing, designed the Sunny View complex specifically to meet the needs of the area’s growing number of working families with children.The garden-style community is close to local schools and offers large three- and four-bedroom apartment homes with two baths ranging from 1,007 to 1,217 square feet. Citibank provided both construction and permanent financing for the project. In addition, the City of Merced Housing Division contributed $1.76 million.Thanks to tax credit financing, Sunny View’s units are available for residents earning from 30 to 60 percent of the Merced County median household income, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Monthly rents range from $302 to $719 based on household income. The community is currently more than 60 percent leased.”Sunny View is Simpson Housing Solutions’ third community in Merced, and we’ve had a very active presence in many of California’s more rural areas in recent years,” says Mike Costa, president of Simpson Housing Solutions. “Our market studies have shown that these communities need more affordable housing as much, if not more, than many urban areas because most available multifamily housing is older, less amenitized and less accommodating for larger, growing families.”Units feature plush carpeting and vinyl flooring, central heating and air conditioning, built-in kitchen appliances, walk-in closets, patios or balconies and wiring for cable TV and Internet. Community amenities include an activity center with a multipurpose room, fitness center, pool and sundeck, barbeque and picnic area, children’s play area, laundry facilities and a computer center. Residents will be able to take part in a number of on-site educational programs, such as computer classes.Several guest speakers will be present at Wednesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, including Merced Mayor Ellie Wooten, Western Community Housing President Graham Espley-Jones, Simpson Housing Solutions President Michael Costa and Kristine Hansen, a representative from State Sen. Jeff Denham’s office.The free opening event also will feature property tours and refreshments.Created in 1994, Simpson Housing Solutions has developed and/or financed more than 28,000 units of affordable housing throughout the nation. The company is a wholly owned division of Denver-based apartment home developer and operator Simpson Housing Limited Partnership.