SANTA MONICA-On Friday, February 19, the California Department of Housing and Community Development announced that two awards will be provided to the City of Santa Monica for the production of affordable housing.
“Affordable housing, always a precious resource, has become even more necessary as greater numbers of our community suffer the financial hardships brought on by the pandemic,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “We are pleased that the state recognizes us as a partner in our collective pursuit to address California’s affordability crisis, and we thank HCD for this much appreciated contribution to our affordable housing trust fund that will offer stability to Santa Monicans.”
The first is an award of $5 million from the California Local Housing Trust Program. The program provides a State match to qualifying local housing funds. The second is an award of $547,516 from the Permanent Local Housing Allocation program for the current year and approximately $3.3 million for the next five years.
“This is significant and welcome support from the state that will spur the production and preservation of affordable housing,” said Andy Agle, Director of the City’s Community Services Department. “The awards reflect Santa Monica’s commitment to affordable housing and will help preserve existing housing and bring more affordable residences to the community.”
Both sources of funding will facilitate three affordable housing developments, including the preservation of 40 affordable residences in the Pico neighborhood and the construction of new affordable housing for individuals experiencing homelessness.
