In an ambitious move to aggressively combat the housing crisis gripping the region, San Diego County has set its sights on transforming idle land into accessible homes for those in need. According to the County News Center, officials have earmarked 11 county-owned properties to be repurposed into affordable housing complexes, a long-awaited boon for low-income families, seniors, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and the unsheltered.

The County of San Diego is working to address the region’s housing crisis in a variety of ways including by designating unused properties as excess land.https://t.co/Bn8w8uE6i3

— SanDiegoCounty (@SanDiegoCounty) November 28, 2023

Construction has already begun on a trio of the sites, with Levant Street in Linda Vista leading the pack, slated to swing open its doors in spring 2024. Set to provide a roof over the heads of 127 seniors, this development kickstarts a series of projects that will, in total, provide shelter to thousands of San Diegans. "The County is galvanizing its efforts to tackle the housing affordability crisis by ensuring that publicly owned surplus land is used for affordable housing," David Estrella, director of Housing and Community Development Services, was quoted in the County News Center news.

The county is also constructing Kettner Crossing, which is to be nestled on Kettner Boulevard and will welcome seniors to 64 affordable units by the summer of 2025. Following on its heels, the Mt. Etna project in Clairemont is expected to set a benchmark with four developments offering a collective 404 affordable units, incrementally opening from winter 2024 to spring 2026, with the final phase yet to break ground.

Crucially, every home within these developments has a mandate to remain affordable for 55 to 99 years, spelling out long-term stability for thousands. San Diego County Housing and Community Development Services, as touted by the county's announcement, already furnishes over 40,000 people with affordable housing opportunities yearly through its array of housing programs. Since 2017, the county has invested more than $235 million in this essential infrastructure, yielding 1,660 new units and counting.

With a pipeline that promises to burgeon the total number of county-supported affordable units to nearly 7,600, officials estimate this will equate to housing for more than 16,700 people.