NEW HOUSING PROJECTS don't come along very often in our city and when they do, they need to encompass many of the city's urgent needs and state mandates: housing for families, parks, retail space and low-income projects, too.
The new 35.67-acre Hansen Trust project on the East End of Ventura is the embodiment of an ideal. The project will have 131 market-rate single-family homes and 34 attached units. Included in the mix will be two parks totaling 5 acres and 20-24 attached units for farm worker housing. The state is now mandating that cities include diversified housing and this project will fulfill that requirement.
"It's an agricultural trust," Council member Brian Brennan explained on a recent council visit to the site. "This whole project was a model of how to do it." The property is controlled by the University of California Hansen Trust, which will use the proceeds from the sale of the property for the Hansen Agricultural Learning Center at Faulkner Farm in Santa Paula. The land is not currently under SOAR's purview and can be developed.
"We believe this project sets a new gold standard for development in the City of Ventura," Dawn Dyer of the Dyer Sheehan Group, the project's developer, said.
It is still uncertain how the farm worker units will be financed, said City Council member Ed Summers. He estimated the cost to build the units would be in the neighborhood of $6 million. The City Council has asked the developer to pay $600,000 for initial costs and architectural fees but the rest of the financing will need to be arranged by the city's Housing Authority.
The council put its final stamp of approval on the project last week.
ACROSS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY is another Utopian vision: The $57 million WAV Project. Scheduled for completion in October of 2009, the project will feature affordable housing for artists, assisted housing for homeless families and market-rate ocean-view penthouse condos for upper-income residents. The project has been hailed for its ability to generate economic activity Downtown. It will also include a theater, gallery space and cafes. It is a completely green project featuring recycled building materials, water and energy conservation, and solar power.
Most of the funding came from federal low-income housing tax credits, which require state approval based on low-income housing criteria. A small loan from the city, redevelopment agency monies and the sale of the market-rate units rounded out the financing. The project is now under construction.
Guidelines for the affordable housing have just recently been formulated.
The mix of market-rate and low-income housing in one project has been done in other areas with much success. While a few of the market-rate units are still available for sale in the WAV project, most have sold, said realtor Jerry Breiner.
The lack of available land space, coupled with urgent low-income housing needs has caused us to rethink the way we build our cities and work on ways to creatively finance such projects. The WAV and Hansen projects are leading the way.
Both projects sound interesting and we'll see how they fare at providing affordable housing and in the case of the WAV project, how in can boost the downtown.
I have to admit though, to concerns about the "affordable artist" housing. Seems like this could get controversial, here in our city what with some of the prior mis-steps when the City moves into the realm off the Arts.
I'd also like to say that I had some very minor experience with the Dyer-Sheehan group while they were involved in a development adjacent to where I live on the East End. If there is ever any project that can endgender controversy or neighborhood friction, these are your "go-to" guys. They were great at involving the neighbors of the tract and I for one, truly felt like they listened to us. It was too bad that another developer took the project over, and it would seem gave DSG the boot.
If I were ever a developer, I'd want them on my team.
"The $57 million WAV Project. Scheduled for completion in October of 2009"
This is the project that has Thompson Blvd. shut down? The road was supposed to be open prior to the fair and then the informational signs went away. It's a pain the butt for those wanting to get in and out of town on the city streets and want to advoid Main Street.
On the Hansen Trust land:
"The land is not currently under SOAR's purview and can be developed."
Why isn't it under SOAR's purview? What makes this land so special (except for the fact that a large, 'old money' farming family owns it)?
Enquiring minds want to know.
errh..J Doe....
Regrettably...construction causes issues, like traffic movement. It happens. Don't be such a weeeny. Deal with it.
As regards the "Hansen Trust" land, it's not "old money", it would appear to be the University of California that controls the land now. It would seem that "Hansen Trust" is the name it is referred to as.
SOAR had limitations on it's influence. I'm not sure about this parcel...but there is land NOT within SOAR'S sphere. This might be some of it.
"Regrettably...construction causes issues, like traffic movement"
I understand that. What I don't understand (or appreciate) is why we (the citizens of Ventura) were lied to regarding the lenght of time that Thompson Blvd. would be closed. It seems that at least the signs could have been updated. Or the City could have issued a press release related to the extended road closure. Neither of those were done. The signs had a date on them and the day after that date the sighs were gone. Just up and disapperaed. Great job by the city informing the citizens.
Do you think the Hand Wash car wash is happy with what has happened? Do you think that the RV park is happy that their customers have to find detours? Do you think Yolanda's is happy that the main street running into their restuarant is closed?
"Don't be such a weeeny. Deal with it."
I have dealt with it by spending my cash elsewhere. If the City doesn't want me to travel to these places, then I won't take my money there. A "weeeny"? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?
"SOAR had limitations on it's influence. I'm not sure about this parcel...but there is land NOT within SOAR'S sphere. This might be some of it."
Gosh... ya think? That is what the reporter said. My question is WHY? SOAR was shoved down our throats as being so great for the community and great for agriculture and great for developers. So now we have this HUGE piece of productive FARM LAND that is being developed and no one is complaining? Something seems fishy to me. Yet business owners who want to open new businesses in Mid Town are being told NO. Something is fishy. We can't have an oil change store in an abandoned gas station. We can't have a Martial Arts studio in Mid Town. Yet we can take productive farm land (which everyone wanted to save according to SOAR) and put more housing (using more water and creating more traffic) during a time when the housing market is uncertain at best.
Yep... the City Council sure knows what they are doing......
The businesses on Johnson put up with more than a year of losses due to the Johnson exit being closed with the work going on with the 101 Freeway. Same with the nearby businesses in Oxnard. You
are not a weeny, you're whiny. People need places to live too. NIMBYs complain too much.
"The businesses on Johnson put up with more than a year of losses due to the Johnson exit being closed with the work going on with the 101 Freeway. Same with the nearby businesses in Oxnard."
My point is that the City spelled out a time table. Then the city just threw the time table away. CalTrans kept citizens/business owners up to date with regular progress reports when they were re-building the bridge. It's too bad the City of Ventura doesn't care enough about it's citizens and business owners to do the same.
People do need places to live. I'm not arguing about that. But completly shutting down US Business 101 so that the developers have more space to work and a place to park? If I were rebuilding my home, could I shut down the street outside so that the contractors would have a place to park?
"You are not a weeny, you're whiny. People need places to live too. NIMBYs complain too much."
Yeah.... I'm 'whiny'.... someone has to be or all the streets would be closed.....
BTW: Neither of these projects are in my 'backyard' but both smell fishy.
John Doe, I'd suggest you give Deborah Hazen at the city a call to find out when the traffic problems will be resolved. After you do, can you report back here?
As to SOAR, that piece of land was not zoned for agriculture, even though that is what it was used for, so it did not fall under SOAR. It is the same with another nearby parcel which will become the Parklands housing project.
The city is required by the state to add to its housing stock of both market-rate and low-income projects. It is not optional. It would appear nearly every project has its detractors. I know people in neighborhoods adjacent to Citrus Walk were not happy about it. My own neighborhood used to be a lemon orchard.
To All Concerned by the Thompson Closure: My name is Chris Velasco and I'm with the nonprofit organization PLACE, working on the WAV project. We sincerely apologize to any who are inconvenienced by our improvements to the street and regret any misinformation about our timeline. Our underground work took many more months than anticipated due to careful, professional archeology work, environmental cleanup and high groundwater that forced us to pump a million gallons of water every day just to perform our work, which includes upgrades to the city's sewer lines, water main, storm sewer and street. We're adding an all-way stop at Garden to make crossing the street safer for WAV families, and we're creating bike lanes. We won't be finished with this work until next year. Again, we do not wish to inconvenience Ventura's citizens or businesses in any way and apologize for the closure. We will perform our necessary improvements to city infrastructure and reopen the street no later than April 1. You can get more information about the project or contact us at place.us.
Thank you, Chris. I know anyone doing extensive underground work Downtown has numerous issues to deal with. The owners of the Watermark also had problems.
I think patience is needed here.
The WAV is a wonderful project and when all is finished it will be a huge asset to its neighbors bringing extra business in.
The WAV did not go out to bid. The GC is probably the most expensive firm around - great for defense projects, bridges. Not a local contractor. It has a very limited number of onsite parking spaces - maybe 20. This is Mr. Velasco's first-ever project on his own. It is his firm's only project. 57 million is a lot of money - who are the money-generators and how does this project pencil out? The retail spaces have no roof access. So how does one build a restaurant ? This project was pushed through with very few questions allowed to be asked by the public. A very good deal for the condo buyers - that's why they've all sold.
The Hansen Trust farm worker housing is laid out in such a way that people buying regular housing next door are going to feel very uncomfortable with very poor farm workers literally next door.
In answer to the question about PLACE's bidding process for GC, we conducted two complete bidding processes under the direction of SL Leonard & Associates. The first round was for preconstruction, and we had five bidders. The second round we had four bidders. In answer to the question about public process, it is PLACE's mission to empower the community to participate in the development process. PLACE conducted thirty-seven meetings with the public, and involved them extensively on all aspects planning, design and approvals. In addition, PLACE formed a conceptual oversight group comprised of a broad group of business, arts, civic and neighborhood leaders to guide the development process. In addition, PLACE formed an advisory board of local and regional leaders who met multiple times to offer advice and guidance. Because PLACE was invited to work on the WAV project by the City of Ventura, we had over a hundred meetings with a broad spectrum of leadership from the community. I hope this clarifies our public process.
Juandeveras your comments about the Hansen development sound very prejudiced to me. Being poor does not make you a bad person. I would hope the homebuyers there could be more enlightened than you are.
Thank you to Mr. Velasco for the fine explanation about his project.
Carolyn:
1. The "comments" were expressed by people at public hearings on this matter
(Hansen Trust) - people who were contemplating buying homes there - not by myself.
2. I do not recall saying that being poor makes anyone a "bad person".
3. Whether I am "enlightened" should not be confused with whether I am politically correct. In fact, the farmworkers' proposed housing location on the site is possibly the nicest of any farmworkers' housing project anywhere, including playgrounds.
4. I reviewed all of the design documents on both projects - a one-inch thick set of WAV plans ( plus revisions ) as well as the Hansen Trust plans. In one WAV presentation, the mood in the room conveyed by the presenters was that this was a done deal. The Architect was intolerant of any challenge to this "masterpiece" and those from the city staff were pretty much of the same mindset. Subsequent revisions made for a better project, though the architect present was replaced. Carolyn, I would recommend you attend these meetings in order to get a more complete overview. You have to be there.
It sounds like elitism to my ears. I have no tolerance for these attitudes. You were there on the WAV decisions? Yet you posted here incorrectly that the project did not go out to bid and were subsequently corrected by Mr. Velasco. It would seem you have your facts wrong.
Carolyn: I was present at the DRC meetings on this matter over the past extended period of time. It was stated quite some time ago that PCL Construction was the general contractor. That indicates a negotiated contract was arranged by a construction management firm, in this case S.I. Leonard of Camarillo. Whereas multiple contractors may have been involved in the early selection process to determine which contractor they wanted to work with, as Mr. Velasco suggests, there is still a difference between preparing a very tight set of specifications to be bid by multiple bidders based on the final documents and negotiating a bid with a pre-selected construction firm, which is how this was handled. This is $57 million of taxpayer money, so far. This money is coming from various sources ( presumably designated for "low income housing" under the control of various pre-selected governmental agencies ) . My point is there should be as much transparency as humanly possible on a project of this scale in a city of this size. In fact, these spec'ns were changed substantially, well after PCL was selected: ie, who is/was monitoring these costs on behalf of the taxpayers ?
Thanks for your questions. The WAV project was evaluated nine times by the design review committee with substantive changes made every time. In addition, we held three design charettes open to the public which were attended by hundreds of community members. I apologize if the architect's attitude suggested one intolerant of change. Indeed our design team worked through an exhaustive public process to balance aesthetics, cost and community need. No, we did not perform a negotiated bid. We had two bid cycles. The second was done including a very tight set of specifications to be bid by multiple (4) bidders based on final construction documents. The contractor was not pre-selected. We had community representation on the review and interview panels. As to your question about taxpayer money, there is no taxpayer money in the WAV project. The city invested $1.5 million in affordable housing setaside funds which they are required to put into affordable housing. PLACE raised the remaining monies from grants and loans, including our sale of $22 million in affordable housing tax credits (which are not tax dollars). As for tax dollars that fund police, fire protection, and the like, there are none. Intentionally. PLACE's vision as a nonprofit is to use small investments from the community to produce large, positive impacts. We hope Ventura will be very proud of the WAV project.
I see this project as an extension of the already very good things that are happening at Bell Arts. I spend a lot of time there visiting artists' studios and never tire of it. This will also have the same vision on a grander scale and be a big cultural tourism draw in addition to a place for people to live. The theater will bring desperately needed performing arts space, too.
It's a win-win and I'm enthusiastic about it. When our mayor went to a regional conference recently, the WAV was the subject other cities were most interested in and responsive to.
Marie: thank you for the time & energy you put into disseminating valued information on the happenings in our City. Both projects you have
covered: WAV & the UC Hansen Trust are forward thinking ways to create sorely needed housing within Ventura. Dawn Dyer has an extensive background in real estate investment analysis and finance and is all about "workability". Creating projects which are consistent with the vision, priorities & needs of the Ventura housing market. Much the same can be said about Chris Velasco and the WAV project which will bring a most needed multi-use housing project to our downtown. With so many projects now stopped or on hold due to finances, these two projects are sorely needed.
Juandeveras we all appreciate your commentary but your attitude seems to be one that I encounter frequently in this town of "no building no place at any time." I see no point in being hypercritical of those who are willing to invest in our town in this harsh economy.
Carolyn, I appreciate your comment, but I am a design-oriented individual who has striven to enhance the aesthetic appearance of this city- details, details, details. The WAV has been refined to its present state and will be a visually stunning addition, as will be Renaissance Square nearby, the new art museum and the Ring project, among many others.
The WAV rents are projected at from $600-$1200 per month. Considering that the entire Ring Project in the harbor area ( a rental project approved on city property with something like 300 units - which will be a welcome addition to this city ) is valued at substantially less than that and seems to be much larger, one cannot but wonder how such a high number for a comparatively small 1/2 block project ( though with multiple stories), can be viable over the long term with such low rents and still qualify for tax credits - which are only good for a decade or so? As each artist/tenant sells work which takes him/her over the low income threshold do they have to move out, are their sales not tallied ( otherwise the tax credits, which are a wonderful device, become unable to continue to qualify the investors who obtained them ). Since "artists" are the city's apparent inhabitants-of-choice, their respective incomes must, in order to justify the investment to investors, remain low - at least on paper. The juxtaposition of Casa Pacifica residents, Project Understanding, the collection of local ( low income ) artists, condo owners and retailers makes this a fairly complex undertaking, at least on paper. I'm sure Mr. Velasco et al have this figured out. All the best.