Federal Grant for 60 Affordable Homes in Goleta
Salud Carbajal Brings $ 7.1 Million to His District
The Heritage Ridge housing development is still going through its planning paces, but the National Housing Trust Fund has just granted $4.7 million to the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara (HASBARCO) for the building of 60 affordable homes at the project. The nonprofit agency has the ability to access extremely competitive bonds and tax credits, which in turn, enabled it to leverage the grant toward acquiring the $57.6 million needed to build the 60 units, said Bob Havlicek, executive director for HASBARCO. The grant money was part of $7.1 million in federal housing grants that are being sent to Congressmember Salud Carbajal’s district.
Altogether, the Heritage Ridge development will build 332 new homes at the corner of Los Carneros and Calle Koral in Goleta, including 41 units that HASBARCO will build at a cost of $37.6 million, exclusively for elderly and senior citizens. The new homes are part of Goleta’s sixth Housing Element cycle, city spokesperson Kelly Hoover said.
Congressmember Salud Carbajal, in announcing the grant award, noted that “The latest inflation report shows that housing costs remain central to curbing rising costs — so these investments cannot come at a more critical time.” He said keeping a roof over families’ heads was among his top priorities: “I am proud that the budgets that I have supported are delivering such robust investments in new workforce housing options, improving the quality of existing affordable housing options, and creating more avenues to helping those currently experiencing homelessness.”
In total, more than $7.1 million in federal housing grants went to Carbajal’s district. In addition to Heritage Ridge, $2 million was designated for repairs to public housing and affordable housing in Ventura and another $419,000 to People’s Self-Help Housing in the tri-counties.
