16th & Island
East Village // Permanent Supportive Housing Community in East Village
Nehemiah Buenaventura, Business Manager
Currently under review, 16th and Island is a planned 102-unit permanent supportive housing community within the growing neighborhood of East Village. Developed by Father Joe’s Villages, the project is part of the organization’s broader Turning the Key Initiative, an ambitious effort to ultimately deliver 2,000 units of affordable housing for individuals experiencing homelessness in San Diego.
The project is being permitted through the City of San Diego’s Affordable Housing Permit Now program, a priority permitting process established by executive order that provides streamlined review timelines and enhanced coordination for 100% affordable housing projects. This program is designed to shorten permit review and approval timelines, giving affordable housing developments like 16th & Island predictable and accelerated processing through the City’s Development Services Department.
The development occupies a 10,324-square-foot site along the south side of Island Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets, a rare urban parcel with frontage on three streets and direct adjacency to neighboring properties. The eight-story hybrid Type III-A over Type I-A structure will deliver 102 residential units, primarily studios and one-bedrooms, 101 of which will be affordable, along with a non-revenue two-bedroom manager’s residence. Envisioned as a 100% affordable permanent supportive housing community, the building is designed to help residents transition out of homelessness with long-term stability and on-site resources.
Supportive services anchor the ground floor, which will include a lobby and reception area, offices, community amenity spaces, utilities, and a commercial kitchen. Space will also be dedicated to outreach programs, that will operate directly within the building to provide daily services and resident support. No commercial retail uses are planned, allowing the entire project to remain fully focused on housing and care.
The 16th and Island Avenue development is not a standalone effort. At the same time, Father Joe’s Villages is advancing a second affordable housing community nearby at 17th Street and Commercial Street, further strengthening East Village’s role as a center for high-density housing paired with social services. Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, said in a statement “we envision a future where no one in our region is forced to live without a home, and these two new communities take us one step closer to that vision.”
Together, the two projects are expected to deliver over 200 new affordable homes in the neighborhood, forming a coordinated approach to addressing homelessness through permanent housing rather than temporary shelter. The Commercial Street site has already secured early public funding support and is moving toward construction on a similar timeline as 1625 Island Avenue.
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SOURCES:
https://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/news-programs/affordable-housing-permit-now