Affordable Housing Project Gets OK In Murrieta

MURRIETA, CA — A plan to bring 200 affordable housing units and another Boys & Girls Club to Murrieta got unanimous signoff Tuesday from the city's planning commission.

If approved by Murrieta City Council, the 6.22-acre Adams Avenue Affordable Housing Community project will be located at 24960 Adams Avenue, just northeast of the Adams and Ivy Street intersection.

The development consists of four apartment buildings, one of which would be senior housing. The buildings will be four stories tall. The project also includes a Boys & Girls Club at the location.

The project applicant, National Community Renaissance, has entered into an agreement with the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest County to provide services at the affordable housing community for children 6-18 years of age who will live in the complex, as well as kids in the surrounding area. BGCSWC will offer academic support, sports, arts, S.T.E.M., career readiness, and leadership programs via before- and after-school programs and day camps, according to city documents.

BGCSWC currently operates a facility at California Oaks Sports Park and is in the process
of negotiating a 10-year lease extension with the city. There is a long waitlist for families who want to take advantage of the Cal Oaks location, according to the city.

"Making [the Adams Avenue Affordable Housing Community] site available to BGCSWC will expand the service area of the organization into this part of the city and double the number of youth served by BGCSWC in the city of Murrieta," according to city documents.

In addition to the BGCSWC, the Adams Avenue Affordable Housing Community residents will have access to services and resources provided by National CORE’s Hope Through Housing Foundation that provides families, youth and seniors with services such as financial literacy, workforce development, onsite food banks, in-house health clinics and benefits counseling, according to city documents.

As an “affordable housing” development, all Adams Avenue Affordable Housing Communityapartment units will be reserved for residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income as determined by the state and federal government.

The project site is former Murrieta Redevelopment Agency land that transferred ownership to the Murrieta Housing Authority in 2012. In 2019, the city issued a Request for Proposals to develop the property with affordable housing. An agreement with National Community Renaissance was entered into in early 2021.

The city has little control over what can be built at the site. The Murrieta Housing Authority is required by state law to dispose of its assets in a way that spurs affordable housing development in the city. The other option was to sell the property, but the proceeds had to help pay for other affordable housing projects in the city.

Under state law, the city must ensure that a percentage of its housing is affordable.

RELATED: Temecula Affordable Housing Project Illustrates State Control