Pre-applications open for 90-unit affordable apartment complex in South Oxnard

Pre-applications are open for a three-story, 90-apartment affordable housing development in South Oxnard.

Cypress Place I is the first block of a planned 150-unit complex on a 5.2-acre parcel off of Cypress Road, just south of Garden City Acres Park.

“There’s such a huge demand for this,” said Ken Trigueiro, CEO of nonprofit developer People’s Self-Help Housing.

The project’s first phase will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 572-1,012 square feet. An 8,000-square-foot community center will house property management, supportive housing services and a K-8 after school program. Trigueiro said the nonprofit hopes to open the project just before Christmas.

Pre-applications opened June 3 and will remain open through June 24 at pshhc.org/CYP. Tenants will be selected via lottery, Trigueiro said. Preference will be given to people who live and work in Oxnard, according to the nonprofit’s information page.

Apartments are set aside for households who earn at or below 80% of the federal area median income, which this year in Ventura County is $131,300 for a family of four. Just under half of the units are earmarked for farmworkers who earn between 30-60% of the area median income. Rents will vary based on income.

Trigueiro said the project cost over $60 million — with $40 million dedicated to construction — and was funded mostly through grant money with a $10 million injection of conventional financing. The city of Oxnard contributed $3.1 million to the project from federal funds.

“We’re really excited. It’s much-needed housing for families, for farmworkers,” said Albert Ramirez, the city’s Assistant Director of Housing and Redevelopment. “It checks a lot of boxes for us.”

People’s Self-Help Housing already has the land and approved plans for an adjacent 60-unit project, but is working to piece together funding. The next phase, Trigueiro said, will flow into Cypress Place I and have a similar look and feel. Ramirez said the city has made a soft commitment to the project of $1.2 million.

People’s Self-Help Housing manages more than 2,000 apartments across the Central Coast, Trigueiro said, and has waitlists totaling 17,000 households. The nonprofit’s portfolio includes Ventura’s El Patio Hotel and the under-construction Community College Courts, a 57-unit project across Telegraph Road from Ventura College.

Isaiah Murtaugh covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahembee.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Pre-applications open for 90-unit affordable apartment complex in South Oxnard

Reporting by Isaiah Murtaugh, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star

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