Ana Gomez- The Landings

Ana Gomez, a mother of three, tells us about life at The Landings in Chula Vista.

At Chelsea Investment Corporation we are committed to leading the way in building and providing affordable housing for families in need. In doing this we are continually inspired by the triumph of the human spirit and grateful for the ability to see people thrive when their basic needs are being met. When faced with the challenge of having a family member with a developmental disability, it goes without saying that certain aspects can be trying. It is a beautiful thing to watch as families rise to the occasion, and we enjoy being able to share in their achievements. This is one such story. 

Ana Gomez is a 33 year-old mother of three beautiful children including 14 year-old Sophie, who at the age of 4 was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After falling into a coma in 2006, she awoke 4 1/2 months later, having suffered debilitating consequences resulting from her condition. 

Now in adolescence, there are complexities involved with caring for Sophie that are eased by being in a suitable living environment. Taking care of a young adult with a developmental disability can be taxing both emotionally and physically, but being in an apartment that is ADA accessible has helped to minimize the difficulty in some of Ana's daily tasks. Ana was kind enough to take us through a day in her life, describing how living at The Landings has eased many of her worries. 

The Landings' ADA-wheelchair accessible leasing center.

Ana and her family have lived at The Landings for 6 years and in that time they’ve seen Sophie steadily improve. Ana shared with us how amenities that some may take for granted, such as air conditioning and wheelchair accessibility, make a huge difference in the life of a young lady who cannot move on her own. “When she was young, getting her into the tub was easy, but now she’s 14 and weighs 100 lbs. We have a roll-in shower here that we can put her in and it’s great” said Ana.

The pool at The Landings- Sophie's happy place.

Also, because of the amount of space in their apartment, Sophie’s teacher is able to come for home schooling 2 hours a day as opposed to a place where lack of space might require that Ana bring her to school every day. As a result of consistent schooling and care, Sophie is excelling in her speech and steadily coming out of her shell. 

Smooth sidewalks and wheelchair access make going for a walk at The Landings much easier. 

Sophie enjoys being taken for strolls through the tree-lined sidewalks leading to the grocery store and time spent in the pool, her favorite thing to do. The lifestyle at The Landings is conducive to her evolution and general happiness. We are grateful to be a part of this family’s solution, and to the Southern California Housing Collaborative for their assistance in the lives of so many people with developmental disabilities. 

Watch Ana’s interview on YouTube.

Professional Awards and Personal Triumphs- A Meaningful Night at The ICON Awards

Providing affordable housing for those with developmental disabilities hits home- CIC Founder and CEO, Jim Schmid dedicates his award to his beloved 12-year-old granddaughter Avery. (Pictured left to right: Jim Schmid, Janice Patterson, Senior Project Manager at Emmerson Construction, Inc., Executive Director So. Cal. Housing Collaborative, Nathan Schmid and Kursat Misirlioglu, Director of Project Finance for CIC. Front row: Miss Avery Schmid.) 

For Jim Schmid, Founder and CEO of Chelsea Investment Corp., it’s personal and professional. His leadership in developing affordable housing for individuals with developmental disabilities comes from his heart and his head.

When Jim received a standing ovation from the Building Industry Association at the annual ICON awards last month, he was stunned and humbled. He shared that ovation – and an unprecedented Honorable Mention award -- with Independence Point, a modest infill project in San Diego’s Lincoln Park, where 25 of 32 units are set aside for those with a developmental disability.

Jim dedicated that award to his beloved and beautiful 12-year-old granddaughter, Avery, herself afflicted with cerebral palsy. Here’s Avery at the Icon Awards, with an award that hits home for everyone in the Chelsea family.

For more on the “monumental achievement” that is Independence Point, click here.

Tranquilo- Peaceful Living at Villa Primavera Apartments

Designed by Hedenkamp to meet LEED Gold standards, Villa Primavera consists of five two-story, garden-style buildings and a community building, with 48 carports and 53 uncovered parking spaces. Featuring 12 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom flats.

At Chelsea Investment Corporation, we are committed to helping families by providing affordable housing for dignified living. 

Throughout the years we have had the good fortune of getting to know some of the people whose lives have been improved as a result of secure and affordable housing. Cecilia Rodriguez, is a resident at one such property. Villa Primavera Apartments is a 2.86-acre site on Meadows Drive in Calexico, California offering a total of 47 units, 17 of which are designated for families with a developmentally disabled member including 8 units that are ADA accessible. 

Cecelia, whose 28-year-old daughter, Diana, is autistic and doesn’t speak, sat down with us last week in her apartment and shared how her life has changed for the better since her move. Her daughter Diana goes to the Easter Seals Southern California Adult Services center in El Centro by bus, every day from 9 am - 2 pm and has become very happy as a result of living in this calm and quiet environment. Cecilia is studying English so she wanted to do our interview in English, her second language. What followed was inspiring both in terms of what Cecelia has accomplished linguistically, but also how her daughter’s life has been enhanced because of their living situation. 

Ceclia described their life at Villa Primavera as, "Tranquilo." a Spanish word with a number of definitions including tranquil, calm, peaceful, and relaxing.

When basic needs are no longer a worry, families are able to focus more attention on improving both developmentally and academically. We are profoundly honored to be a part of this evolution.

One World Beef: Reviving A Job-Generator For The City Of Brawley

High noon on the main drag in the city of Brawley.

Driving along the main street in Brawley is a stark reminder of the effects of a stalled economy. 

While larger metropolitan areas may be able to weather economic downturn more easily, downtown Brawley isdominated by boarded up businesses and advertisements for homes at auction. This is what 24.2% unemployment looks like.

However, driving just past the Brawley airport, there is hope; an enormous industrial facility comes into view, emerging from its closure like a bear awakening from hibernation. 

At 337,000 square feet on 100 acres, the newly purchased and rehabilitated One World Beef processing plant will soon go back online, approximately two-and-a-half years after it was abandoned by the previous owners. Eric Brandt, a third-generation Imperial Valley cattle feeder and CEO of One World Beef, predicts that 600 jobs will be restored over the next four years. In a city where nearly 3,200 residents are unemployed, that’s a lot of people back to work.

The 100-acre One World Beef processing plant as seen from the freeway. 

According to Brawley Mayor Don Wharton, “The positive impact of the re-opening of the beef plant extends beyond the city limits. Job creation on this level does not happen often, therefore the significance of this industry returning to Brawley is immeasurable.”

Here at Border Communities Capital Company, an affiliated entity of Chelsea Investment Corp., we’re proud to be involved with the financing that makes this project possible. As part of a consortium of lenders and equity investors, we recently closed a $7.76 million loan financed through the New Markets Tax Credit program. Read more by clicking here.

This is a great example of why the New Markets Tax Credit program is important. We plan to be involved in more of this job-generating financing in Imperial County.

For more information on Border Communities Capital Company and New Markets Tax Credit financing and to see if your project possibly qualifies please visit http://www.chelseainvestco.com/bccc/

Making Beautiful Music - Changing Lives Through Affordable Housing

Terrence Patridge and his mother Thérèse Davis in the Community Room at The Landings in Chula Vista.

Last Friday we had the pleasure of meeting Terrence Patridge and his mother Thérèse Davis at The Landings in Chula Vista. The two, who along with Thérèse’s mother, share one of the apartment homes at The Landings, were kind enough to meet with us and discuss how their life has been enhanced since moving in. As a premier builder of affordable housing, we are grateful for the opportunity to share these stories of how peoples’ lives are profoundly changed simply by finding a safe and secure place to live.

The Landings was built as part of an inclusionary requirement and was developed by Chelsea Investment Corporation to provide affordable housing for people in need.

At a very young age, Thérèse’s son Terrence was diagnosed with autism, a diagnosis which can seem devastating to a parent. With the support of his mother and a stable home environment, Terrence is proving that kids with autism can lead productive, independent lives and achieve their dreams. Terrence has been playing trombone since he was a young boy and now plays with orchestras, in theater productions, jazz ensembles and in church. He is able to ride the bus and take the trolley to Mesa College where he is going to school to become a sound engineer. He is currently studying for a certificate in music theory to strengthen his musical foundation and also taking piano as a part of his studies.

During the course of our interview, Terrence and his mom expressed the joys and benefits of their life at The Landings. They explained how Terrence spends his time at home practicing his trombone and piano and also contributing to the care of his “Granny.”  He then treated us to his beautiful rendition of Misty by Erroll Garner

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Thérèse worked with the staff of the Southern California Housing Collaborative and with Chelsea’s property management company to secure an apartment that was served by a common elevator and was ADA-wheelchair accessible with a roll-in shower; a necessity for her mother who at times must depend on her wheelchair. The Landings was built as part of an inclusionary requirement and was developed by Chelsea Investment Corporation to provide affordable housing for people in need.

The Landings' ADA-wheelchair accessible leasing center.

Independence Point - Dignified Housing for Families With Disabilities

"We are very blessed to have found Independence Point." - Jessica Alvarez

At Chelsea Investment Corporation, we are committed to helping families by providing affordable housing for dignified living. One of our more recent undertakings is a newly built community of townhomes in San Diego. Independence Point provides housing for families with a developmentally disabled member and in doing so, helps to improve the quality of life for the entire family.

San Diegan Jessica Alvarez knows what hard times look like. A single mother with two daughters, she and her girls have survived the full range of insecure housing – from homelessness to a tiny one-bedroom rental with black mold and dangerous neighbors. 

Today, Jessica says she is “very blessed” as she tours us through her brand new, three-bedroom apartment at Independence Point, an affordable housing community built through our partnership with the Southern California Housing Collaborative (Housing Collaborative) and the San Diego Housing Commission. Located in Lincoln Park just off Imperial Avenue, Independence Point reserves 25 of 32 townhomes for qualified households with a developmentally disabled member. 

Both comfortable and affordable, 25 of the 32 units at Independence Point are allocated for families with a developmentally disabled member. 

Jessica Alvarez found Independence Point while seeking resources for her six-year-old daughter, Babie, who is on the autism spectrum. Like other Independence Point residents, Jessica's income qualifies her for rent that is discounted from market-rate, increasing the funds she has available for care associated with her daughter's disability. 

Academic improvements for both children were noticeable within weeks of finding secure housing. 

“Both Babie and my teenage daughter have made great improvements in school since we moved here four months ago,” said Jessica, who noted that her older daughter is a high school senior with aspirations to win an academic scholarship at the University of Chicago. Jessica’s three-bedroom townhome includes an attached garage that they’ve converted into a private room for yoga and other healing therapies for Babie.

When basic needs are no longer a worry, families are able to focus more attention on improving both developmentally and academically. We are profoundly honored to be a part of this evolution. 

Cultivating a Community at Westminster Manor

Margaret, one of our Westminster Manor residents, shows off her plot in the community garden.

In addition to producing affordable housing, Chelsea Investment Corporation is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the people who live in the housing we provide. The Westminster Manor senior living apartments are just one such example. 

Our latest endeavor at Westminster Manor is the community garden, wherein residents are able to cultivate, plant, tend and harvest a variety of crops, from food to cutting flowers. Community gardening is defined by its shared nature; gardeners work collectively to manage a garden for shared benefit. Participation in the gardening activities can improve wellbeing through increased social contact. In addition, the benefits of community gardening are believed to extend beyond the participants themselves by creating more cohesive communities through improved physical environments and the sharing of products and labor.

A community garden is defined and described by the American Community Garden Association (the ACGA) as a place that is urban, suburban, or rural. It can grow flowers, vegetables or community. It can be one community plot, or can be many individual plots, as is the garden at Westminster Manor.

A community garden is a wonderful venue for people to gather and enjoy the social aspect of actually growing food: sharing stories, sharing harvests, sharing meals. Communities can really come together across any perceived demographic lines. It brings people together who may otherwise not have become acquainted- cultivating a community, one garden plot at a time. 

Margaret gives us a closeup of her home grown sugar snap peas. 

Wishing our residents a bountiful harvest! 

The City of Carlsbad: Pioneering Affordable Housing Since 1993

Glen Ridge Apartments in Carlsbad, built by Chelsea Investment Corp.

Undoubtedly, it played to mixed reviews some 20 years ago when Carlsbad mandated an Inclusionary Housing Program to prospective developers. But surely the building industry agreed with the City that a plan was needed to satisfy the accelerating demand for affordable housing.

“When the need for affordable housing began to grow in the early 1990s, the City of Carlsbad got creative,” said Debbie Fountain, who has facilitated the creation of quality affordable housing in Carlsbad since 1993. “Coming out of the recession of the early ‘90s, the City partnered with the private sector and the inclusionary housing ordinance became part of the process in doing business with the City.”

Debbie Fountain has facilitated the creation of quality affordable housing in Carlsbad since 1993.

Fountain, who now serves as Carlsbad’s Housing and Neighborhood Services Director, points to the first project out of that pipeline, a 344-unit apartment community built for low income households in Aviara.

“It looks as good today as it did the day it was ready for occupancy in 1996,” says Fountain.

Carlsbad’s strong partnership with the private sector, both for-profit and non-profit housing developers, has been a model for other municipalities grappling with the need for affordable housing.

How do they do it?

“We have been successful because we work each project on a case-by-case basis,” said Fountain. “We don’t have simply one way to produce the housing or any one way to structure a deal. We work with developers to build the product type that best fits with the remainder of the market rate development.”

Here at Chelsea Investment Corporation, we’re proud of our history with the City of Carlsbad, starting with Mariposa Apartments in 2005. To date, our partnerships with market rate developers account for about 16% of Carlsbad’s total inventory of housing for lower income households.

“Chelsea has been an extremely good partner for those developers, and has been very responsive to the City in creating housing that best meets the needs of the low income households of Carlsbad,” said Fountain. “The housing produced by Chelsea is very well-managed and well-maintained. The City has always been pleased with the developments they own and manage.”

In addition to Mariposa Apartments in the Calavera Hills neighborhood, our work in Carlsbad includes Hunter’s Pointe Apartments in La Costa and Glen Ridge Apartments in Robertson Ranch. Currently, we are developing a 64-unit Quarry Creek apartment community, where construction is expected to begin in September.

The 168 unit Hunter's Pointe project was developed to satisfy the affordable housing requirement of the La Costa Master Planned Community in Carlsbad, California.

Carlsbad has set a high standard for the implementation of desirable communities that meet the needs of all residents, and advocates like Debbie Fountain help make it a positive experience for everyone involved. Even after 23 years in the business, she retains her passion for this impactful work.

“Providing affordable housing not only meets the needs of low income families but it helps the overall community to be healthier, too,” says Fountain. “Helping to provide permanent affordable shelter for our low income families brings me great joy.”

Click HERE for more information on the City of Carlsbad’s Inclusionary Housing Program.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Pacific Southwest Community Development Corp.

Juli Veee and his group of young soccer players at Chelsea Investment's Cedar Creek apartments in Santee. 

One of the joys in soccer legend Juli Veee’s life is his work with kids who otherwise couldn't afford to play.

With many families unable to afford participating in organized competition, Juli Veee’s soccer clinics are a regular feature of after-school programming at many of Chelsea Investment Corporation’s (Chelsea) affordable communities in San Diego and Imperial counties. For eight years, the retired San Diego Sockers star’s program has been a valued component of many of the resident service plans designed by Pacific Southwest Community Development Corporation (PSCDC).

“Juli works with kids who have limited access to organized play, or professional coaching,” said Robert Laing, president and executive director of PSCDC. “It’s one of most popular after-school programs, especially in Imperial County where many of our residents are priced out of activities like club sports.”

Pacific Southwest Community Development Corporation's commitment to the after school program carries on throughout the summer months.

Since its inception in 1993, PSCDC has partnered with Chelsea at more than 50 apartment communities to meet the needs of low-income individuals and families.  The scope of these resident-serving programs includes sports and recreation, art, English as a second language, homework assistance, tutoring, computer labs, and other counseling services.

"We’re busiest during the school year, of course, but the goal of helping our students succeed doesn’t end when summer begins,” said Laing. “The children in our communities really look forward to the summer reading program, offered through the Public Library. We sponsor a competition every year to see who can read the most books and it’s become a big deal, especially for younger children.”

Another program with huge implications for the health and welfare of their residents is PSCDC’s support of the local food bank in Imperial County.

“Food insecurity is a big problem in Imperial County and over the years, we’ve helped implement some sustainable solutions,” said Laing.

Working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, PSCDC receives surplus food for distribution to Chelsea communities in the area.

“The USDA has trained our crews in proper food handling and food distribution,” said Laing. “We pay the food bank to load up their truck and deliver food to our properties. It’s available for any resident who wants or needs it.”

PSCDC is the second largest distributor of food in the Imperial Valley, second only to Catholic Charities.

In San Diego, several Chelsea properties stage their own farmers’ markets by setting up stalls in their community rooms.

“In these farmers’ markets, we’re able to distribute groceries that are nearing their sell-by dates,” said Laing. “It solves a problem for the major supermarket chains while helping our residents.”

Laing has led San Diego-based PSCDC since he left the homebuilding business in 2008. In the last eight years, he has grown the staff from three to 34 and has expanded the company’s client list.

Laing sees the future of the company well beyond its current mission. Just last month, PSCDC completed a new 20-unit senior apartment complex in downtown Morro Bay, Calif.

“Rather than being just a partner, we’ve decided to build our own affordable housing,” said Laing. “We just finished our first one and we’re looking for more opportunities.”

For more information on PSCDC, visit http://pswcdc.org

Let Freedom Ring - Affordable Housing for Seniors at Westminster Manor

June Spano, 66, and her dog Charlie.

We recently interviewed several of our residents at Westminster Manor to see how they're settling into their newly renovated apartments and how affordable senior housing has impacted their lives. We were delighted to hear their feedback and to be offered a glimpse into a day in the life at Westminster Manor. Here's a sneak peek of one of our conversations with a lovely woman named June Spano.

We asked one question: What do you like about living here at Westminster Manor?

"I’m very very grateful for living here because it’s affordable housing for seniors. I live on a fixed income now, so this is perfect for me. The girls in the front office are cheerful, they’re very helpful if we need anything. There is any church you want right here in the neighborhood and it’s just a great community." June enthusiastically added, "I love that I can have my dog Charlie here with me and that I’m making new friends. We have a beautiful recreation room upstairs. I’ve already had a party there for my granddaughter’s confirmation and there’s no charge for using the room. I saw the best fireworks that I've ever seen in my life this year, from my balcony! My closest friends were here with me and they just loved it. We had a ball!"

With her beloved collection of objet d'art, June's apartment is a reflection of her life, past and present.

“We’re very close to Balboa Park, so a lot of times rather than walking Charlie in the city, we go up to the park for our early morning walk. It’s great! I’m so happy I can keep my companion dog with me here; he’s a favorite at Westminster Manor and loves all of the other residents.”

The view from June's apartment overlooking the San Diego Bay.

In fact, June spent many years helping seniors before she retired. She told us that she feels blessed to be living at Westminster Manor. “I feel like God blessed me by putting me here, with a beautiful view for my retirement years. I am so grateful”

The July 4th view from June Spano's Westminster Manor 12th floor apartment. Photo taken by her daughter Heather Kurtz.

We are grateful as well, June. Thank you for the opportunity and for a beautiful interview.

Chelsea Investment Corp. is committed to providing superior solutions for affordable housing. Through the years we have garnered many awards including the 2015 BIA Best Affordable Project Icon Award for Alpha Square and most recently the 2016 San Diego Housing Federation Ruby Award for Supportive Housing for Independence Point.

To learn more, please follow us on Instagram @chelseinvestment and "Like" us on Facebook.

From inclusionary development to creating homes for populations with special needs, Chelsea Investment Corporation develops award-winning affordable housing that strengthens communities and enriches lives.