One of two properties in the Ocean Beach-Point Loma area that are undergoing conversions to provide housing and ive services to homeless people is about to open, with the other on track to debut early next year.
The two projects are funded as part of California’s Homekey program, which promotes opportunities to provide permanent or interim housing.
A 2024 count tallied 10,605 people countywide without a steady roof over their heads, a slight increase from 2023, and more than 6,100 people who were unsheltered, an 18 percent rise.
Altogether, the two properties will add 75 new permanent housing units.
Here’s a look at both.
The Shores at North Beach
The Shores at North Beach, expected to open at the end of October, is a renovated 13-unit apartment building at 2147 Abbott St. in Ocean Beach.
It will be operated by Wakeland Housing and Development, a nonprofit that specializes in ive housing throughout California.
San Diego housing commissioners agreed last year to submit a t application with Wakeland to use Homekey money to buy the vacant property from the Ocean Beach Community Development Corp. The purchase was completed in May for $4.5 million, with an estimated total cost, including building rehabilitation expenses, of $6.8 million.
Renovations began in June, with new flooring, appliances, smoke and carbon dioxide sensors, and replacement of the exterior fence.
“It’s been a fast project just because we know there is such a need, so we want to get these 13 people in,” said Rebecca Louie, Wakeland’s president and chief executive.
Last year, Louie said the units were “basically habitable.” The building is zoned for use as low-income housing and previously was the site of several housing programs.
Shelly Parks, president of the Ocean Beach Community Foundation (formerly the Ocean Beach Town Council), called the current housing project “social care with dignity.”
“The OBCF expects OBceans to welcome our new neighbors who live at The Shores at North Beach,” Parks said. “They are part of the fabric of this community that we all love so much.”
The facility will have a full-time case manager, behavioral health , job placement, computer literacy classes and social events. Louie said Wakeland also helps residents reconnect with family .
San Diego County will provide access to crisis response services such as the 24/7 Psychiatric Emergency Response Team and Mobile Crisis Response Team, according to James Canning, chief external affairs officer for county Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, whose District 3 includes Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
“The services money came in through the county of San Diego and we got vouchers from the San Diego Housing Commission,” Louie said.
“If you have someone coming in who is extremely low-income, like how a lot of these people will be, they can’t pay very much toward their rent. So the voucher helps pay that difference between what they can pay and what we actually need to operate the property.”
Louie said studio apartments at The Shores at North Beach are priced at $795 per month and one-bedroom units at $852.
“Tenants will pay 30 percent of their income toward those rents,” she said.
Though The Shores is a permanent housing facility, Wakeland’s goal is to help its residents become established and self-sustaining enough to be able to move on from the program, Louie said.
One of the largest hurdles in attaining that goal is affordability, she said. Louie noted the stark difference between a subsidized housing option and the heightened rental market in San Diego that can be a barrier to someone with low income.
“If we get someone in who is a senior, this might be their final stop,” Louie said. “This might be what they can afford; they might not be going back to work full time. We get people with disabilities where this is what they need — it’s just a safe, affordable place to live. Then we get some people who might be on the younger side, and we are able to get them to the next level of apartment.”
“The challenge in San Diego, as many people in OB are feeling, is the push on the rents for non-affordable housing and what a big jump it is to go from a place where you have guaranteed affordable rents to try to go out in the market,” Louie added. “One of the things we heard when we were doing outreach for this [project] was how many people are being pushed out of Ocean Beach by the rents. That comes into consideration — can someone go from paying a very low rent to out in the market?
“That’s our goal, that people are able to live independently and move out of the ive housing and to a place where they can really be on their own.”
Parks also underscored the scarcity of affordable housing options in Ocean Beach.
“This fall it seems that there are more ‘For rent’ signs up than years past and they are staying up longer,” Parks said. “Summer season is over and usually this comes with more vacancies, but this summer seems to be a bit different. An example of the changing times — one neighbor closed on a lease at $100 less [per month] than the … sign had posted for. Hopefully, this is indicative of a turn toward more supply than demand.”
Pacific Village
In the Midway District, the San Diego Housing Commission bought the vacant Ramada Inn in the 3700 block of Midway Drive for $11.6 million in January.
The total cost to purchase and renovate the 62-unit property is estimated at $28.7 million. The state awarded about $16.8 million in Homekey funds toward the project, and the city and county committed about $5.9 million each.
After the acquisition, the property was briefly used to provide short-term emergency shelter for families displaced by San Diego’s January floods.
The conversion of the Ramada into what will be called Pacific Village began in March and is continuing. Renovations include installation of kitchenettes in all units, the addition of a fire sprinkler and alarm system, security additions such as fencing and cameras, and accessibility upgrades.
Scott Marshall, vice president of government relations for the Housing Commission, said the project is expected to be completed in time for people to move in beginning in February.
The Housing Commission will manage the property and has committed 62 federal vouchers to help residents pay their rent at Pacific Village. Of those, 15 are ive housing vouchers committed to homeless military veterans. They will receive case management and clinical services from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The remaining residents will receive services through an agreement between the Housing Commission and the county Health & Human Services Agency. The county will contract with a service provider chosen through its procurement process.
“The total contract rent for the units will be approximately $1,700 to $2,000 per month, but tenants will not pay that amount,” Marshall said. “Tenants will pay a predetermined portion of their income toward their rent, and SDHC will pay the difference between the tenant’s portion and the full rent for the assisted unit.”
