NEW FAMILY-FOCUSED AFFORDABLE APARTMENT COMMUNITY CELEBRATES OPENING IN TEMECULA
San Diego-based nonprofit affordable housing developer Community HousingWorks celebrates its first community in Riverside County with the opening of Las Haciendas Apartments
TEMECULA, CALIF. – June 14, 2024 – Community HousingWorks (CHW) celebrated the opening of Las Haciendas Apartments, a new affordable community for families in Temecula, on Tuesday. CHW’s first community in Riverside County, and 49th community overall, Las Haciendas consists of 77 homes including one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments (including one designated for an on-site property manager). The community, which is fully leased up, is restricted to residents earning 30% to 60% of the area median income (AMI) or less (approximately $28,000 to $56,000 per year for a family of four). Built approximately half a mile north of the historic Temecula Old Town, Las Haciendas Apartments was developed as part of the Uptown Temecula Specific Plan which aims to transform a former industrial area into a multifaceted, vibrant, and active neighborhood.
CHW President and CEO Sean Spear observed Temecula’s rich history as a crossroads of cultures in Southern California, and how the city continues to evolve, making it an excellent location for new growth and opportunity. “CHW is proud to have completed one of the first new developments pursuant to the City’s Uptown Temecula Specific Plan. Las Haciendas will now be a leading example of this improvement effort as this neighborhood becomes the more vibrant, urban center the plan envisions.” Spear also notes that providing a stable home is only the beginning of how CHW will serve the 77 families who now call Las Haciendas home: “More than the bricks and mortar of this development, it is the set of free education, financial and well-being services that help them build their futures and those of their children.”
City of Temecula Mayor Pro Tem Brenden Kalfus commented on the importance of providing affordable housing: “I spoke with a resident, Brandi, earlier and you could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes how much a home like this means to hear and that’s what it’s all about. … We do this for residents like Brandi to bring them comfort in their housing.”
The Las Haciendas community also includes designated parking, a computer lab, a multi-purpose community room with a kitchen, and an outdoor seating area with a playground and barbeques. On-site services for residents are provided by CHW service partner Luther Social Services of Southern California. In developing Las Haciendas, CHW has also improved the neighborhood with new public infrastructure such as a new street, sidewalks, trees, lights, and an alley to improve the walkability. The project is designed for a solar photovoltaic system and solar thermal and will be registered in the Green Point Rated System.
Las Haciendas resident Brandi Albright shared what living in the community has meant to her, “The moments sitting on my couch in my beautiful new apartment looking around and saying to myself ‘is this real, it’s mine’ and also being able to say to myself ‘this is why we kept our dream alive and this is worth all the struggles and tears we had to go through.’… I am honored to be part of this community and look forward to creating new memories in a home of our own.”
Funding sources for Las Haciendas Apartments included the City of Temecula as a lender, project-based vouchers from the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside, Wells Fargo as construction lender and tax credit equity investor, and the California Community Reinvestment Corporation as the permanent lender. The development team included general contractor Sun Country Builders; architectural firm Rodriguez Associates Architects and Planners, Inc.; civil engineers Excel Engineering and SCS Engineering; construction manager Henderson Consulting; and landscape architect Schmidt Design Group.
The opening ceremony took place Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at 28715 Las Haciendas Street in Temecula, California, at 10:00 a.m. Speakers included City of Temecula Mayor Pro Tem Brenden Kalfus, Deputy Director of the Housing Authority of Riverside County Cindy Hui, Wells Fargo Vice President Relationship Manager Jessica Gonzales, Community HousingWorks Board Member Antonio Barbosa, President and CEO Sean Spear, Senior Vice President of Housing and Real Estate Development Kevin Leichner, and Vice President of Housing and Real Estate Development Anna Slaby.
About Community HousingWorks
Founded in 1988, Community HousingWorks is a nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that develops, rehabilitates, preserves, and operates affordable apartment communities in California and Texas. In addition to providing working families and seniors with stable homes in healthy communities, Community HousingWorks layers in powerful programs, services, and connections to resources. These tools help people attain financial stability, improve their health and overall well-being, and set up school-age children for success in the classroom and beyond. Community HousingWorks owns over 4,400 apartments in 49 communities statewide, serving over 11,000 working families, children, and seniors. Community HousingWorks is an exemplary ranked member of the national NeighborWorks Network®, an award-winning affiliate of UnidosUS and a member of the prestigious Housing Partnership Network. To learn more, visit chworks.org
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