Wes Woods IIVentura County Star
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Applications are being accepted for Ventura Springs, an affordable housing complex in east Ventura that prioritizes homeless and low-income veterans.
The project is taking applications through Sept. 12. The complex is located along Cosmos Avenue south of Telephone Road. The property is adjacent to the 60-bed Veterans Home of California at 10900 Telephone Road, west of the junction with Wells Road. The address for the new Ventura Springs development, 10866 Morning Glory Road, did not show up on Google Maps as of Saturday.
The complex features 122 apartments in 11 buildings on the roughly 10-acre site. One-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes will be available. Two of the units are reserved for on-site staff.
Ventura Mayor Joe Schroeder called the project "one of the happiest things that happened" in his four years on the City Council.
"I think you can judge a society on how they treat their veterans not during a war, but after the war," Schroeder said. "This is the least that we can do for our veterans."
The project was codeveloped by two Los Angeles-based nonprofits, A Community of Friends and U.S. Vets, which both aim to address homelessness.
Alex Couri, director of fund development for A Community of Friends, said the goal for Ventura Springs is for veterans to live in at least half of the units, while the hope is to have veterans fill all the apartments.
Income limits apply and apartment assignments will be determined by household size and family composition, a flyer for the project said.
Residents can begin moving in as soon asconstruction is complete, likely in September, Couri said. A grand opening is expected in February.
U.S. Vets will offer case management and clinical services on-site.
A large community room with a kitchen will have a room of computers for veterans to access employment opportunities or other uses, said Pedro Jauregui, national director of outreach at U.S. Vets.
Ventura Springs will have events to celebrate Veterans Day and other holidays, he said, adding many of the nonprofit's staff members have also served in the military.
"We're going to make sure we're there for them and that we celebrate them," Jauregui said. "They served our country honorably and we want to make sure we take the time out to show that respect to them, and our gratitude."
When veterans are cared for, he said, they take care of one another.
"Our veterans start to remember that camaraderie we had when we're in the military and they start to look after each other," he said.
Plans evolved over years
The project will have units for those earning about 30% to 60% of the area median income. At the 30% end of the range, known as extremely low-income, the complex lists current income limits as $29,550 for one person and $42,210 for a household of four.
In Ventura County, the area median income is $125,600 for a family of four, according to the most recent state figures.
The effort took shape over a period of years with funding coming from a variety of sources.
In 2018, the Ventura City Council selected the two nonprofits to develop the property, said Ventura County Supervisor Matt LaVere, who was on the council at the time.
An ad hoc committee with council members Cheryl Heitmann and Jim Monahan spearheaded the process and did a lot of work, LaVere said. AssemblymemberJacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, was instrumental in helping the city acquire the land from the state to make the development possible, he said.
Tom Flannigan, a spokesperson for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, which provided a $1 million grant to support the effort in 2023, said the project cost about $70.3 million.
Funds came from private and public sources including the San Francisco bank, the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the city of Ventura. The nonprofit Housing Trust Fund Ventura County provided an $800,000 predevelopment loan to get the project moving before long-term financing was secured.
The state provided about $9.4 million through its Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention program, according to figures provided by A Community of Friends. Tax credit equity, often used by affordable housing developers, is providing about $47.4 million, with loans, grants and fee deferrals playing a part.
The Ventura city council approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2021 from the city's Successor Housing Agency Fund and federal HOME funding to help get construction moving.
A groundbreaking ceremony launched construction in June 2022.
For more information on Ventura Springs, call 805-869-6559, email venturaspringsleasing@acof.org or visit www.acof.org.
Wes Woods II covers West Countyfor the Ventura County Star. Reach himatwesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or@JournoWes.
