NHC member San Diego Housing Commission’s nonprofit affiliate, Housing Development Partners (HDP), and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) recently purchased the New Palace Hotel in Banker’s Hill, San Diego to preserve as affordable housing for low-income seniors at risk of homelessness. The development will provide 79 affordable efficiency units for seniors aged 62 and older.
The former hotel will be renovated into studio apartments with kitchenettes ranging in size from 157 to 320 square feet. The development will remain affordable for the next 55 years to tenants with incomes up to 60 percent of San Diego’s area median income, which is about $34,000 a year for single individuals. LISC provided a loan of $5.8 million to fund HDP’s purchase of the hotel and closing costs.
“The units at New Palace Hotel will remain affordable for 55 years, providing much-needed affordable housing for vulnerable seniors in San Diego,” San Diego Housing Commission President Richard Gentry said in a press release. “The San Diego Housing Commission is pleased to partner with Housing Development Partners and LISC for this purchase.”
The need for affordable housing in high-cost metro areas like San Diego is evidenced in our housing affordability research report, “Housing Landscape 2015.” The research shows that 20 percent of households in the area spend at least half of their income on housing costs, compared to a nationwide average of 15 percent. The 2016 edition of “Housing Landscape” will be released later this month.
New Palace Hotel first opened in 1913. It was destroyed by a fire in 1989 but rebuilt two years later to provide affordable housing.