SANTA ANA, CA – Jamboree Housing Corporation announced today that the Santa Ana City Council has approved the award of 75 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) project-based vouchers to Jamboree to help finance the development of 75 supportive housing units for homeless Orange County veterans who will also receive employment, health and other special services.
The vouchers were issued to Jamboree by the Santa Ana Housing Authority after a comprehensive review process which led to the selection of the developer team for the Santa Ana Veterans Village, the largest veterans housing community in Orange County. Along with quality housing, the $24.4 million Veterans Village will be a hub of enriched services and activities provided by a variety of partner agencies to support the veteran residents.
“While more than 700 veterans live in our properties across California, this housing award is very special to Jamboree in that it’s our first dedicated property for veterans. It is a strategic step in achieving our longer-term vision that every person will live in a strong, healthy, sustainable community. Our county’s veterans should be at the top of our list,” said Laura Archuleta, President of Jamboree. She noted that, last month, Jamboree was also awarded 25 VASH vouchers by the City of Sacramento for The Studios at Hotel Berry, Jamboree’s single-resident occupancy (SRO) property in downtown Sacramento. Just blocks from the State Capitol, this will allow Jamboree to reserve 25 of 105 of the studios at the historic icon for much needed housing for veterans.
With development slated to begin at the end of 2018, the 1.54-acre vacant site for the Santa Ana Veterans Village is located at the southwest corner of West First Street and Kenton Drive. The site is planned for a three-story building that encompasses 71 one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom apartments for veterans, and a manager’s apartment. The elevator-served apartments will feature appliance-equipped kitchens, a full bath, closet and storage space, and private balconies. Interior amenities envisioned for the property include a community kitchen, central laundry facility, fitness room with exercise equipment, and a yoga room.
“We are proud of what the City of Santa Ana is doing to create affordable housing for families and individuals from all walks of life, and we are especially honored to support the development of the Veterans Village that will help fill the critical demand for veterans housing in our community,” said City of Santa Ana Council Member Juan Villegas. “We are truly thankful for the service that veterans have given our country. Working in partnership with Jamboree, we are pleased to demonstrate that appreciation by providing veterans with a new home and the help they need to live a full life.”
Designed for optimum sustainability within an urban location, 20 percent of the village site will be dedicated open space and is planned to feature a tranquil courtyard as well as community vegetable garden, quiet seating area with a reflection garden, and a fire pit, barbeque grills and picnic tables. Other features include a sports court with bocce ball and horseshoes, bike storage, a flagpole, and designated smoking area.
Along with housing, the Santa Ana Veterans Village residents will have access to a comprehensive array of specialized services provided by Jamboree in collaboration with other local nonprofit service providers, including Step Up on Second, Goodwill of Orange County’s Tierney Center for Veterans Services, Veterans Legal Institute (VLI), and Strength in Support (SIS).
“Our experience as a developer of affordable housing for a variety of residents, ranging from homeless families to individuals living with disabilities, is that services such as those which will be provided to the veterans make a significant difference in how quickly they recover from health-related issues. We want to empower them to step out into the world as confident, productive people,” said George Searcy, Jamboree Senior Vice President of Community Impact. “Although housing plays an important role in people’s health and well-being, services such as those provided by Jamboree and its partners establish a more complete environment for recovery and fulfillment.”
Rents for Veterans Village will be structured for veterans who earn up to 30 percent of the county’s area median income (AMI) and who are eligible under the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program. The VASH program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide housing vouchers for homeless veterans in areas of the country that have the highest number of homeless veterans. Congress appropriated $60 million in 2016 to serve approximately 8,000 homeless veterans and families.
About Jamboree: Founded in 1990, Irvine, CA-headquartered Jamboree Housing Corporation is an award-winning, broad-based nonprofit housing development company that develops, acquires, renovates and manages permanently affordable rental and ownership housing throughout California for working families, seniors and people with special needs. A leading community development organization, Jamboree is committed to sustaining excellence with high quality affordable housing that benefits the environment, the economy and local communities. It currently has $280 million in affordable housing projects in its development pipeline and a $1.1 billion asset portfolio that includes the development of and/or ownership interest in more than 7,500 homes in more than 88 California communities. Currently, Jamboree’s Community Impact Group offers resident services that foster learning, health and wellness, and community building at 35 Jamboree communities with designated staff at each location