County OKs low-income apartments

Written by Sean Janssen, The Union Democrat March 28, 2012 12:44 pm

Calaveras County supervisors directed county officials to continue work to bring a 30-unit housing complex to San Andreas to meet the needs of low-income and behavioral health clients.

A proposal detailed in a study session Tuesday calls on the county to chip in $639,500 in allocated state Mental Health Services Act funds toward a $7.8 million overhaul of Hilltop Apartments on St. Charles Street. The end result would include 25 units for low-income families, including six three-bedroom units, and five for behavioral health clients who are now homeless.
A plan to provide such housing has been in the works for five years, according to county Mental Health Services Act Coordinator Christa Thompson.

The county’s lack of a housing authority “has put us at something of a disadvantage in trying to implement the program in our county,” Thompson said.

What is proposed for Hilltop, currently facing foreclosure and repeatedly described as “dilapidated” during the workshop, is a major remodel.

“It’s in a sad condition,” said Carol Ornelas, CEO of Visionary Home Builders, a Stockton nonprofit that will partner with the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency and the county on the project. “This is the kind of project we call an ugly duckling that we will turn into a beautiful swan at the end of the day. We will take this down to the studs.”

Ornelas pointed to several widely-praised projects Visionary has undertaken in Stockton as examples.

The bulk of the funding for the project, an estimated $5.1 million, is expected to come from a corporate “limited partner” that receives a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on its investment in the project, Ornelas said.

She also said that current residents will be temporarily relocated and granted a right to return when the project is complete. At a minimum, Ornelas said, jobs will be created for local carpenters, carpet-layers and the like during the 18 months needed to complete the facelift.

During public comment, most viewed the project favorably but some expressed concern about the concentration of low-income housing that exists in San Andreas.

Thompson said a 2007 consumer housing survey said likely residents want to be near access to public transportation, groceries and a variety of services, making San Andreas or Angels Camp the best location.

Ornelas added that it is an existing facility that will undergo a minimal expansion from its current 26 units.

Supervisor Gary Tofanelli, whose district includes San Andreas, said public involvement may be favorable with this project as privately managed work on other low-income complexes in town have produced less favorable results.

“We have a seat at the table,” Tofanelli said. “We have not had somebody come to us before and say they are going to spend $8 million in San Andreas and hire local people.”