New St. Vincent’s-owned Affordable Housing Complex to Open
Building Offers Views of Petco Park, Coronado Bridge, Downtown San Diego

   SAN DIEGO — St. Vincent de Paul Village will hold the grand opening of its second affordable housing complex on Saturday, May 31, at 11 a.m., on the corner of 17th Street and Imperial Avenue.

   The six-story, 90-unit Villa Harvey Mandel will provide housing to the elderly, disabled, those living with mental illness and other individuals on fixed incomes. Eighty-five studio apartments and five 1-bedroom units will comprise the building and rent will range from $399 to $511 – amounts well below the San Diego region’s average monthly housing cost.

   "We’re providing a solution for a rental market that has all but eliminated the possibility of individuals living on fixed incomes to find affordable housing," says Father Joe Carroll, president of St. Vincent’s. "Villa Harvey Mandel is a blend of affordability, quality and convenience."

   The units range in size from the 326 sq. ft. studio model to the 540 sq. ft. one-bedroom option, with many of the west-facing apartments offering views of the Coronado Bridge, Petco Park and downtown San Diego.

   "Affordable housing doesn’t mean we’ve sacrificed aesthetic features," Father Joe says. "We worked closely with groups such as Centre City Development Corporation who understand our desire to build structurally impressive facilities that positively impact the community landscape."

   The studio apartments will be rented to single adults with an annual income of no more than $22,350. Two people will be allowed to live in the one-bedroom units as long as their combined annual income is under $25,500. The building is situated just north of Village Place, a 46-unit affordable housing complex opened in 1997 that is also owned by St. Vincent’s.

   The new structure is named after Harvey Mandel, the late St. Vincent’s vice-president who succumbed to cancer in 2001. Father Joe credits Mandel with helping to develop the Village’s one-stop-shopping approach to homeless rehabilitation, known in human-services circles as the Continuum of Care, and organizing the Solutions Consortium, San Diego’s largest social-services collaborative.

   For more information on the grand opening of Villa Harvey Mandel, or to schedule a tour of the facility on an earlier date, call (619) 525-1608.

# # #