City’s Housing Authority Aims to Complete 48-Unit Development by Fall 2026
By Christina McDermott
Mon Feb 10, 2025
City officials and other stakeholders broke ground on the city Housing Authority’s 48-unit Bella Vista affordable housing project on the corner of North La Cumbre Road and Via Lucero on Friday, February 7. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.
Sunlight filtered through the remaining rain clouds on Friday morning, as people gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara’s latest affordable housing project. Located at the corner of North La Cumbre Road and Via Lucero, the Bella Vista development will provide 47 affordable units for those making less than 60 percent of the area’s medium income. The final unit in the development will be reserved for an onsite manager.
Rob Fredericks, the Housing Authority’s executive director and chief executive officer, said he was elated to get to this stage in the project’s development.
“It just feels wonderful that we’re here, knowing the good that this development is going to do for the community, for residents in need, for affordable housing,” he said.
Specifically, the Housing Authority will subsidize the units with Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers, which will allow families to pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. Fifteen one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedroom apartments, and 12 three-bed room apartments are planned. The location will also contain a community room, outdoor courtyard space, and on-site laundry.
Christine Pierron, the project’s architect, said the buildings will follow a farmhouse style, inspired by a nearby home.
“At the corner here at Via Lucero is [a] red classic red farmhouse style building. Then I’ve got a white one, and then there’s a building off La Cumbre which kind of resonates as an old barn with sandstone foundations,” she said.
Pierron said providing parking was important for the neighbors and that she used the challenge of a sloping lot to include a semi-underground parking garage.
“Notice from this corner to the other corner, it’s about a 22-foot grade difference. So that was a challenge. But challenges are always opportunities. So because it was a challenge, I was able to basically bury most of that parking garage and then put basically the entire first floor at this level where we’re standing,” she said.
The development’s parking garage will include 58 spaces; 10 additional above-ground spaces will be available.
Pierron has worked with the Housing Authority in the past.
“They believe that beauty matters to their lives and it shows in all of their projects, and that’s one of the great things and reasons why I love working with them is they know it matters to give people green space and outdoor space and high quality materials,” she said.
At the ceremony, Fredericks stood in front of a small crowd wearing a T-shirt that said “everyone deserves a home.” He told the group that he was wearing the shirt because he believed the message.
“One of the most effective ways to help lift people out of poverty is to provide an affordable place to call home so they are not burdened with paying the vast majority of their income to keep a roof over their head,” he said.
Many of Santa Barbara’s tenants are rent burdened, with data from the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara, a financial nonprofit, showing that most low-income households in the county pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent.
Average rental prices in the city are higher than county averages. Data from the City of Santa Barbara shows that to rent a market-rates studio in 2024 without being considered “rent burdened,” or spending more than 30 percent of one’s monthly income, a person would have to make $88,000 a year, or a bit over $42 an hour.
To keep rents low at Bella Vista, Fredericks explains that the Housing Authority is making use of funding from different sources, including low-income housing tax credit.
“The main funding source is the federal low-income housing tax credit program that pays for about 70 percent of the cost of construction of the development,” Fredericks said.
Fredericks said that to even qualify for that tax credit, the authority needed local support. He thanked the city for contributing a $5 million loan for Bella Vista. The cost of the development is estimated at about $51 million.
Dale Aazam, the Housing Authority’s deputy executive director, said the credits are means for getting funding from institutional investors. Developers are incentivized by the federal government to put money toward low-income housing by receiving credits that reduce their tax liability, or the amount they owe the government in federal taxes. These tax credits are then distributed by the state governments.
Enterprise Community Capital, a nonprofit, is the tax credit partner for this project. The project’s construction and permanent lender is Citi Community Capital, which is part of Citi Bank.
The Housing Authority purchased the land, which formerly included an office building, in 2019 for about $6 million. Aazam said the site’s location, in the Hope School District, near public transportation and amenities, was a strong spot for affordable housing.
As for next steps, the Housing Authority hopes to finish the project by the end of September 2026.
