San Diego amends loan agreement to preserve affordable housing project

By Gary Warth

July 14, 2026

The San Diego City Council has agreed to amend a loan agreement with a downtown apartment building to upgrade and preserve existing affordable housing and is supporting four state Assembly bills aimed at expanding home ownership.

Council members on July 14 voted to extend its original loan agreement with Studio 15, allowing the SRO to renovate 275 apartments, including combining two studio units into a single one-bedroom unit, resulting in 274 apartments.

The council voted on the item without discussion as part of the consent calendar.

All but two units will be for low-income residents who earn between 30% and 60% the average median income.

The agreement extends the loan terms and the affordability restrictions by five years to 2069 and requires no additional funding from the city or the San Diego Housing Commission.

The city’s former Redevelopment Agency made an original affordable housing loan of $16.5 million in 2006 and an additional loan of $900,000 for a total of about $17.4 million.

The five-studio building at 1475 Imperial Ave. opened in 2009 with a 55-year affordability covenant for the 274 studio apartments.

Studio 15 Limited Partnership, which is controlled by building owner Affirmed Housing, has obtained financing for the costs of renovations, including 4% tax credits, a new bank loan and tax-exempt bonds.

Apartment renovations include updated kitchens, bathrooms and finishes, and improvements will be made to common areas, safety and security systems and accessibility.

The building is about 25% vacant, and $500,000 has been budgeted to relocate tenants who will be temporarily displaced.

Other renovations include a new rooftop solar photovoltaic system, a new thermoplastic roof

system, new boiler system replacements parts and new energy-efficient appliances and water-efficient fixtures.

Also at the July 14 meeting, the council agreed to support four state Assembly bills as part of the consent calendar.

Assembly Bill 1903 will reduce housing costs and increase opportunities for homeownership by allowing builders to resolve problems in newly constructed homes before triggering lawyer fees and court proceedings.

Assembly Bill 1406 will help builders lower construction and financing costs by reducing the risk to lenders and investors, leading to lower-cost homes.

Assembly Bill 1070 will direct state agencies to study how using the residential building code for small, multi-family home projects could accelerate the construction of duplexes, fourplexes, townhomes and courtyard apartments. Those projects fall between detached single-family homes and large apartment buildings and are sometimes referred to as “missing middle” housing because restrictive zoning codes have made them difficult or illegal to build.

Assembly Bill 1834 exempts certain mixed-use development projects from tentative and final map requirements, qualifying them to file a parcel map instead. The exemption will fast-track the review process and could bolster construction of multi-family housing.