The following is a submission from Venice Community Housing.
Venice Community Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer and service provider, broke ground today on Santa Monica’s newest affordable housing development, 20th Street Apartments. Developed in partnership with Community Corporation of Santa Monica, 20th Street Apartments will offer 78 units of 100% affordable housing for low-income families and individuals who have experienced homelessness.
“Venice Community Housing is proud to expand its service area to Santa Monica and to have begun construction on these much-needed homes,” said Erika Lee, executive director of VCH. “We are excited to join the community and to be welcoming people home soon.”
“The 20th Street Apartments is Community Corp.’s first collaborative project developed in partnership with another nonprofit committed to helping individuals and families find stable, affordable long-term housing,” said Tara Barauskas, executive director of Community Corporation. “Working together with Venice Community Housing, we can do even more to address our city’s housing crisis and the urgent need for inclusive, environmentally sustainable homes.”
Several community leaders, elected officials, and funding partners took part in Wednesday afternoon’s groundbreaking, including Caroline Torosis, Mayor Pro Tem of Santa Monica; Jenny Cho, Deputy Director of Federal Financial Assistance at the California Department of Housing & Community Development; Garrett Gin, Greater Los Angeles Market Executive at Bank of America; and Meredith Hudak, Asset Manager with the National Equity Fund.
“Communities like the 20th Street Apartments are crucial to our city’s ability to maintain economic diversity, provide workforce housing, prevent and address homelessness, and meet our Housing Element commitments,” said Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Torosis. “These partnerships between nonprofits and cities are how we move this work forward—no one entity can do it alone.”
“The 20th Street Apartments represent a model of effective public-private partnerships that brings much needed housing to the westside for both working families and those experiencing homelessness to get back on their feet again,” said Garrett Gin, Los Angeles market executive, Bank of America. “With our long-time partners at Venice Community Housing and Community Corporation of Santa Monica, Bank of America was pleased to invest debt and equity to help finance this project.”
The 20th Street development was designed to meet LEED Gold standards and will include solar panels and Energy Star appliances. It will also feature 151 bike parking spaces and is a 3-minute bike ride or 6-minute walk to the 17h Street/SMC Expo line stop. Residents will have access to a rooftop community garden, laundry facilities, community rooms, outdoor play areas, and green spaces throughout. The project has an expected completion of mid-2027 and the lease-up process will begin shortly after. Please find information on applying to the City of Santa Monica’s Section 8 and Below Market Housing (BMH) Waitlists at www.santamonica.gov/housing-apply.
Financing for the project is provided from the following programs: HCD Housing for a Healthy California (HHC) Program, HCD Infill & Infrastructure Grant (IIG), HCD Multifamily Housing Program (MHP), HCD National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), federal and state tax credits from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC), and tax-exempt bonds through the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC). The project selected National Equity Fund, Inc. as its tax credit equity investor and Bank of America, N.A. as its senior construction lender.
