During a Feb. 15 National City council meeting, Community HousingWorks and city staff provided an update on the Kimball Highland Master Plan project that will ultimately include 145 apartment homes, a federally qualified health clinic, a senior care center, and a new senior community center.
National City Director of Community Housing Carlos Aguirre said the project is at the heart of the city’s efforts to create an age-friendly, transit oriented development in the center of the community.
“This is a new way to think about housing. Not only is it connected to services but people can walk to stores, to coffee shops, to wherever they need to be,” Aguirre said.
Community HousingWorks Senior Vice President Mary Jane Jagodzinski said all the tax credits, “despite being difficult to win” and additional funding required to build the project are now secured and the group plans to break ground this summer.
Community HousingWorks Project Manager Chris Bloom said the project is “well underway” with three construction phases planned.
The first two phases are dedicated to housing, followed by the health clinic completed in the third phase, Bloom said.
Site 1 is currently a vacant parking lot adjacent to the 99¢ Only store at 1320 Highland Ave. It will have 61 affordable rental units: six studios, 14 one-bedroom apartments, 23 two-bedroom units, and 17 three-bedroom homes with a community room that includes a kitchen, a central computer lab and on-site resident services.
Site 2 is located where the current Kimball Senior Center sits at 1221 D Ave and will include 84 affordable rental units, including six studios, 16 one-bedroom apartments, 40 two-bedroom units, 22 three-bedroom homes, and also include a community room with accompanying kitchen, a central computer lab and on-site resident services.
“Within this building, there will be an approximately 8,000 square foot, one-story senior center that will replace the current senior center,” Bloom said.
The new senior center will include a large community room as well as several classrooms for senior programs, “a ton of extra storage room”, and a fully operational kitchen, Bloom said. It will replace the old one, and although it is being fully built and furnished by Community HousingWorks, the new senior center will be maintained and operated by the city and senior center staff at a cost of $1 per year in rent for the next 65 years.
Site 3 is the San Ysidro health clinic, a new medical office building with underground parking. The federally qualified health clinic will receive federal dollars to provide primary care services, and the first National City PACE program, or program of all-inclusive care for the elderly facility. The new PACE program will serve older adults who would otherwise reside in nursing facilities so they can remain independent and in their homes for as long as possible.
San Ysidro Health Clinic Vice President of External Affairs Ana Melgoza said the new clinic will be the first of their projects with a behavioral health department for all ages as well as a dental clinic with services for “very small children to older adults” as well as a substance abuse treatment center and individual patient rooms.
“With all these new services also come jobs so we’re really excited that as we get closer to opening day, we’ll be recruiting from the community,” Melgoza said.
Additionally, Melgoza said, they are pursuing city initiatives to connect departments so clinic doctors can prescribe walking at the park and food from olivewood gardens to benefit patients while supporting the National City community as a whole.
Community HousingWorks Vice President of Housing and Real Estate Development Tim Parham said San Diego-based Sun Country Builders will be overseeing the project, and has “taken on efforts to increase the number of laborers who are BIPOC or contractors with minority-owned businesses” for the project.
Additionally, Parham said, they have an agreement with the city to pay prevailing wage.
“We talk about traffic studies and traffic having an impact in the neighborhood. How about the park— have we done any analysis about how much more usage the park will have being right across the street? I know we’ve been discussing future changes to the park but have we considered amenities,” City Council Member Jose Rodriguez asked.
The project has been included in grant applications for improvements to the park, Aguirre said.
Councilman Marcus Bush asked whether priority will be given to current National City residents for the affordable housing portion, in an effort to prevent displacement associated with gentrification.
Aguirre confirmed “the same process we instituted at Paradise Creek will be instituted here as well” so residents are given priority.
Council Ron Morrison questioned whether anything could be done to reduce the transient population currently near the 99¢ Only lot to which Aguirre said forthcoming construction activity will likely change that situation. No indication was given as to where that homeless population could shift as the project unfolds.
The first site is scheduled to break ground this summer and the entire project should be fully completed by Summer 2024.
