SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego is allocating another $20 million in funding to the "Bridge to Home" affordable housing program, which provides gap financing for projects building new homes.
Mayor Todd Gloria made the announcement Thursday about the new money going to the program that launched in 2021 as part of his plan to address the housing crisis.
“I have not let up on my commitment to make it easier and less expensive to build homes that are affordable for struggling residents,” the mayor said. “This third round of Bridge to Home will help builders get their projects off the ground and result in hundreds of new affordable homes for San Diegans.”
The money will help home builders with acquiring land and other up-front financing costs. The city's press release says affordable housing projects usually need to secure several local, state and federal funds to make sure their projects are ready to build.
The mayor's office says this money will help qualified builders apply for direct grant funding, low-interest loans or tax credits. The "notice of funding availability" is open through Oct. 6, 2023, and the projects will be awarded on a rolling basis, the release says.
This is the third round of funding for the "Bridge to Home" program. So far, the investment in this program has helped fund 937 affordable homes in Rancho Bernardo, City Heights, El Cerrito, downtown, Encanto and San Ysidro. Of those homes, 272 of them have supportive services embedded to help people who are homeless or at the risk of becoming homeless, the release states.
The mayor's office says four out of the 11 projects that have received money so far are already in the process of being built.
“The City’s investment of $48 million has leveraged $568 million in total development costs, acting as a true catalyst to spearhead these affordable housing developments," said Christina Bibler, director of the Economic Development Department. "Our gap financing made a significant impact on the competitiveness of projects, resulting in the ability to create housing at income levels that San Diegans can afford.”
Bibler's department administers the "Bridge to Home" program. The funding sources include former redevelopment housing funds, federal money and dollars from the Permanent Local Housing Allocation.
Bridge to Home is administered by the City of San Diego’s Economic Development Department [sandiego.gov] through the combination of several funding sources: former redevelopment housing funds, federal funds and the state's Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA).
