San Diego's housing landscape got a major boost with the grand opening of ShoreLINE. This affordable housing development promises to ease the burden on the city's less affluent residents and bolster public transit use simultaneously, according to a release from the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The $62.6 million project, nestled at the Grantville Transit Center on Alvarado Canyon Road, offers 126 new homes specifically for families earning 30 to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), a move hailed by local leaders as a milestone in the fight against the city's housing crisis.
The strategic location of ShoreLINE, a stone's throw from a key trolley stop, aims to serve dual purposes by providing affordable living spaces and promoting the use of public transportation, a pairing championed by MTS Board Chair and San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who at the grand opening touted the successful collaboration between public and private sectors; despite a run-on sentence, the message underscored MTS's role in repurposing underused land. In a statement obtained by MTS, Mayor Todd Gloria spoke to the project's alignment with broader city priorities, including addressing affordability concerns and environmental sustainability, "ShoreLINE is another example of how MTS is repurposing park and ride locations to provide much-needed relief to our region’s housing crisis."
ShoreLINE's seven-story building encompasses not only living quarters but also a variety of amenities, including laundry facilities on every floor, bike storage, a computer lab, and open communal spaces designed to foster a sense of community among residents. In addition to the internal offerings, the complex features an outdoor courtyard, gardens, and play areas meant to encourage outdoor activities and social interaction. Moreover, residents will have exclusive access to supportive services such as after-school programs and adult education initiatives.
This development is just one part of a larger strategic plan by Affirmed Housing and MTS to transform prime park-and-ride locations into hubs of affordable housing and transit access, with properties across the region undergoing similar transformations; along with ShoreLINE, these include the Rancho Bernardo Transit Station and others like the E Street and Beyer Boulevard Transit Centers, among various developments aimed at delivering over a thousand affordable living spaces within the city's core and its periphery. Affirmed Housing President Jimmy Silverwood remarked in an MTS release, “This project provides hard working families and individuals with more than just a roof over their head. It recognizes their contribution to society and gives them the access and resources to live their best lives.”
In addition to its role in urban development, MTS continues to offer essential transit services throughout the San Diego region, operating an extensive network of bus routes and trolley lines that carry hundreds of thousands of passengers daily. Affirmed Housing's track record involves billions of dollars in affordable and supportive development, contributing to the well-being of numerous Californian communities by means of sustainable and safe housing solutions.
