City of Santa Ana and County of Orange open The Crossroads at Washington affordable housing community

Santa Ana's newest affordable community provides housing for extremely low-income families and people experiencing homelessness

Santa Ana, Calif. - The City of Santa Ana and County of Orange on Sept. 26 celebrated the grand opening of The Crossroads at Washington, an 86-unit, affordable development for extremely low-income families and people experiencing homelessness. Located at 1136 and 1146 E. Washington Ave. in Santa Ana, the new affordable community is built on land jointly owned by the City of Santa Ana and County of Orange.

"I want to thank our partners and City staff for their hard work to bring this complex project to fruition, creating much-needed housing for some of our most vulnerable residents," Mayor Valerie Amezcua said. "While we still have work to do, I'm proud that Santa Ana continues to be a leader in Orange County in building new affordable housing and also welcoming a variety of new residential projects to provide homes for people of all income levels."

More than 100 people attended the Grand Opening event, which was attended by Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Thai Viet Phan, and City Councilmembers David Penaloza and Jessie Lopez.

Located on 2.29 acres in Santa Ana's historic Logan neighborhood in Ward 6, the development includes forty-two apartments for large families and forty-three apartments for people experiencing homelessness. The Crossroads at Washington is one of the first, large family affordable developments to provide housing to 100% extremely low-income families and special needs populations with incomes at or below 30% of the Area Median Income.

The Crossroads at Washington is a public-private partnership with the City of Santa Ana, the County of Orange, Related California (Related) and A Community of Friends (ACOF).

"The County is pleased to have partnered with the City of Santa Ana in supporting the building of an all-affordable housing development at the Crossroads at Washington," said Orange County District 2 Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento. "This development represents true collaboration between the County and the City merging two properties and working together in ensuring extremely low-income families and individuals have more opportunities for affordable housing. This development shows the County's support toward achieving its regional goal in the Housing Funding Strategy of developing 2,396 supportive housing units by 2029."

In 2019, the City of Santa and County of Orange selected the team of Related and ACOF to develop the property and provide a range of onsite social services for the residents, including access to health service and wellness, adult educational and skill building classes. The land was ground leased to the development team so the City of Santa Ana and County of Orange retain land ownership to ensure long term housing affordability at this development site.

The Santa Ana City Council also approved $4.6 million in loan agreements and 15 Section 8 vouchers for the development. The County of Orange is proud to have contributed $2.6 million in capital funding and 43 Housing Choice project-based vouchers, and the Orange County Housing Finance Trust contributed $2.5 million.

"Our state is mired in a crippling shortage of affordable housing," said Bill Witte, CEO of Related California. "New communities like the Crossroads at Washington are the result of years of hard work from many individuals and organizations, but start and end with the elected officials who push them forward. We are grateful to the City and County for taking action to help mitigate one of society's pressing issues.

"This development would not have happened without the support of both the City and the County," said Dora Leong Gallo, President and CEO of ACOF. "We are excited that the Crossroads at Washington will fulfill two community goals - affordable housing for people earning minimum wage and individuals and families experiencing homelessness and have a disability."

The Crossroads at Washington contains a mix of units for the family and special needs residents that have been thoughtfully spread throughout the residential buildings to ensure integration. The design encourages interaction amongst all residents via easy access and visual links to common spaces. Resident amenities include a computer room, community room with lounge and kitchen, fitness area, swimming pool, and outdoor courtyards with seating and barbeque areas.

About the City of Santa Ana:
Santa Ana is downtown for the world-famous Orange County, California. It is the County Seat, headquarters to national corporations including a Fortune 500 company, and home to a vibrant evening scene and arts community. Over 1,700 City of Santa Ana employees work hard every day to deliver efficient public services in partnership with our community to ensure public safety, a prosperous economic environment, opportunities for our youth, and a high quality of life for residents. Learn more at www.santa-ana.org.

About Related California:

Related California, the West Coast affiliate of Related Companies, is a fully integrated real estate firm that develops multifamily residential and mixed-use properties in California.

Since 1989, Related California has undertaken a range of transformational developments from best in class luxury high rise residential properties to the redevelopment of obsolete public housing, spanning a broad spectrum of urban infill, affordable, mixed-income and market rate multi-family developments. The company has a development portfolio of more than 20,700 residential units completed or under construction, and more than 4,600 affordable and 7,200 market rate units in pre-development.

Related California has a long history of community partnership, having collaborated with more than 40 municipalities and over 30 non-profit organizations throughout California, and has successfully developed and managed a broad range of property types throughout Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. Related California has developed more than $10.3 billion in assets and has a track record of consistently developing communities that exceed industry benchmarks in design, construction, sustainability and property management. For more information about Related California, visit www.relatedcalifornia.com

About A Community of Friends:

Established in 1988, A Community of Friends (ACOF) is a nonprofit affordable housing developer that specializes in creating permanent supportive housing in the Southern California region. Its mission is to end homelessness through the provision of quality permanent supportive housing for people with mental illness. ACOF acts as developer and service provider, ensuring the provision of wraparound services in all its buildings. Currently, ACOF has 46 buildings in its portfolio, located in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, which provide homes for nearly 2,600 people, including nearly 650 children.

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