Fully Affordable Community for Veterans to Open in Ventura County
The property will cater to formerly unhoused and low-income residents.
Co-developers A Community of Friends and U.S. VETS will soon open Ventura Springs, a 122-unit fully affordable and supportive housing community in Ventura, Calif.
The developers broke ground on the project in June 2022. Other partners involved in the development of the property include the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and California Congressman Salud Carbajal.
Designated for the formerly homeless and low-income veterans and their families, Ventura Springs will serve residents earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. The community will also provide social, clinical and programmatic services such as career development, mental health counseling and case management.
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Encompassing 11 buildings spread across nearly 10 acres, Ventura Springs incorporates 78 one-bedroom, 32 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom apartments. Common-area amenities are set to include a fitness center, a business center, a playground, a community room, laundry facilities and controlled access. The pedestrian-friendly community will also feature walking trails, courtyards, picnic areas, a community garden and landscaped sitting areas.
The development is coming online at 10795 Cosmos Ave. at the intersection with Telephone Road, within walking distance of the Veterans Home of California – Ventura.
The public-private financing package for the $70.3 million project consists of:
- $55.8 million construction loan from Bank of America
- $2.1 million construction loan from the City of Ventura
- $1 million grant from Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Program through Bank of America California
- $9.4 million from California Housing & Community Development VHHP
- $500,000 from The Home Depot Foundation
- $427,000 from City of Ventura Successor Housing Agency
Creating affordable options for veterans
The collaboration between the developers and the other private and public partners involved in the project shows the commitment to closing the gap between supply and demand in affordable housing. Congressman Carbajal remarked in a prepared statement that some of the greatest challenges facing the Central Coast are the high cost of housing and the lack of housing options.
The Ventura Springs development aims at meeting the critical need of quality and affordable housing for veterans. There were approximately 50,000 veterans living in Ventura County at the time of the project’s groundbreaking.
