San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation

Brighton Place, the latest affordable housing project, held its grand opening Thursday with residents set to begin moving in Friday.

Over 1,400 applicants entered the lottery to obtain one of the 77 units in the complex, which include 44 two-bedroom units averaging 950 square feet and 33 three-bedroom units averaging 1.325 square feet. According to Poway Mayor Don Higginson, who was a guest speaker at the welcoming event, most of the selected applicants had Poway roots, either living or working in Poway.

There to welcome everyone to the newly opened complex was Matthew Jumper, president of San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation. The event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, recognition of the development team, and a self-guided tour through the units and grounds.

The project, which broke ground 15 months ago, came in on time and under budget, for a total of $20.4 million or $264,935 per unit, and generated 396 jobs during the 15-month development phase.

This is the latest affordable housing project developed by Interfaith Housing Assistance Foundation, who also built and runs the Brookview Village senior affordable housing on Pomerado Road. Greg Smyth, chair of the board of the San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation, said the group will look for a third location in Poway in hopes of developing another affordable housing project.

The Interfaith Housing Assistance Foundation will be in limited partnership with the National Equity Fund, who provided $11.1 million tax credit equity for 15 years. Brighton Place was also in part funded by a $5.4 million loan from the Poway Redevelopment Agency, now made defunct by a recent California Supreme Court ruling.

Rent for the two-story, two- or three-bedroom Craftsman-style townhomes will range from $510 – $1,072, depending on household income. The target market for Brighton Place was families earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income, with a qualifying family of four earning between $24,090 – $48,180 annually.

The units are certified GreenPoint rated developments through the California Build-It-Green program, and include photovoltaic solar energy panels incorporated into the roof tiles, recycled fly ash in the concrete, recycled materials in the children’s playground and playground flooring, project benches and patio fences, energy efficient appliances, artificial turf and an on-site well for landscape irrigation.

Brighton Place also includes nods to its Old Poway location with a decorative plow, ground plaques featuring old-time hats and a “windicator” as a grand centerpiece to the outside common area.