Serenade on 43rd

Serenade on 43rd is a unique development in City Heights consisting of an existing 2 story apartment complex that was renovated, modified, and incorporated into a new affordable housing complex consisting of a 4 story building and a new front amenity building.

The goal of the project is to house those who were formerly homeless or just exiting homelessness, with a goal of housing both individuals and families. This project consists of an existing 20 unit apartment building and a new 45 unit building. Creating the total of 65 units.

The new structure is being headed by Wakeland Housing, an affordable housing developer all around San Diego. Including many projects in City Heights. Before this structure there was previously a retail/office building consisting of a corner store and an auto shop. The site was mostly a parking lot making it ideal for infill development.

This structure consists of 44 affordable units, supportive units, and a managers unit. With a AMI (Area Median Income) of 30-60%. These range in size from studio to three bedroom units. While it is unclear how many one and 2 bedroom units there are per building, all 28 studio and 3 three bedroom units are in this new building. With the remaining units appearing to be 4 two bedroom units and 9 one bedroom units.

This building has a staff kitchen, mail room, laundry room, and 2 rooftop decks for residents. It also has the leasing office for the complex. There will also likely be an office for resident services. This building appears to host the "supportive housing" element of this project (23 of the studios, and 9 one bedrooms) so likely has more amenities, however as time of writing was not clear. The ground floor also has a parking garage consisting of 9 parking space, a vast difference from the previous car centric design.

Partnering with the new owner of the neighboring apartment complex, Housing Innovation Partners and Wakeland renovated and modified an existing 22 unit apartment building into a 20 unit building to facilitate a larger connected courtyard and we believe for setbacks from the new structure. While this may raise questions of displacement, when the project was started there were 21 existing residents which were allowed to remain according to the loan recommendation.

Before renovations

This allowed tenants in an existing "naturally occurring affordable housing" complex to keep their homes while a new landlord that prioritizes affordability renovated and modified the building. It appears the building before renovations consisted of 4 two bedroom units and 18 one bedroom units. The unit mix after is not clear. But it appears to be 16 one bedroom units and 4 two bedroom units.

After renovations

Existing residents were asked before the renovation works on what amenities were wanted most, and they were able to get a larger laundry room, a mail room, and improved courtyard spaces. On top of every unit being renovated in a phased process to not displace any tenant. This is a truly unique situation where existing tenants and future tenants who are experiencing homelessness both got new or renovated housing.

The last building as a part of this complex is the amenity building, located where previously was a parking lot for the existing apartments, it is a great use of previously underutilized space. It has a community kitchen, a community lounge space, seating for many around to relax, chat, or study. And interfacing well with the outdoor courtyard grills and patio space. It creates a great cohesive space for community where there was previously parking.

To round out the project, the courtyard has mostly community spaces but also has a small kids play ground with a slide, bbqs, and lots of green land scaping with new trees and plants.

This is a great example of what can be done with a very creative project team and collaboration. Creating a unified complex for existing residents and new residents who were formerly homeless. Creating a community that is mixed income and has people from all kinds of situations from families to individuals. Preserving existing affordable housing and creating new housing for those who need it most. This is a great project and a great piece of a densifying City Heights.

Sources:

https://www.serenadeon43rd.com/gallery/

https://www.wakelandhdc.com/our-developments.html

https://sdhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/101_Serenade-43rd_final.pdf

https://www.wakelandhdc.com/news_hcd_super_nofa.html

https://www.facebook.com/hipsandiego.org

https://www.suncountrybuilders.net/projects/serenade-on-43rd/

https://www.sdhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/HCR23-056_Loan-for-Serenade_Final.pdf

https://hipsandiego.org/properties