REEDLEY – The recent opening of Reedley’s Guardian Village apartments checked off a series of unique circumstances and “firsts” in California’s pursuit of building up the affordable housing supply.
Constructed on a state surplus site, Guardian Village offers 48 local families — including farmworkers and those facing housing insecurity — affordable living for generations. Once families had a chance to settle into their new homes, developer Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) celebrated all the ways the apartment complex will add to community wellbeing alongside its project partners at a ceremony on Feb. 20.
“Occasionally we hear skepticism of the amount of money it takes to build a project like this, but consider that Guardian Village will be affordable for at least 55 years, which means it will serve multiple generations of people, working families, who just need that opportunity, that need that hand up,” SHE CEO Tom Collishaw said. “That’s a great investment, and I would say one we can’t afford to not make.”
Located on 11th Street next door to Full Gospel Tabernacle Church, Guardian Village includes one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments alongside a small playground and office/community building. Collishaw said Guardian Village is what happens when individuals, political leaders, private investors and public agencies “come together and pull in the same direction.”
While SHE, a local affordable housing developer, took the lead on the project, it was made possible through work between SHE, Enterprise Community Partners’ (Enterprise) Housing Credit Investments, Fresno County and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Further, the project received support from the city of Reedley, the California Department of General Services (DGS) and UnitedHealth Group. Other stakeholders included general contractor Quiring General, architectural design firm Mogavero Architects, property manager AWI Management Corporation and financial consultant California Housing Partnership Corporation.
Funding for the project came from more than $5 million in grants and loans from the state of California, a 99-year, $1 lease with HCD and DGS for the development site valued at $700,000 and more than $2.5 million from Fresno County. Further, UnitedHealth Group contributed a $14.4 million equity investment through a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit partnership with Enterprise.
A historic project
Although all affordable housing developments have their own “special story,” Claire Parisa, director of acquisitions for Enterprise Housing Credits Investment, said Guardian Village is particularly special because it doesn’t have just one special story.
“A development might serve just farmworkers, or a development might just have been more built on a former National Guard site, … but when you come together with a group like Self-Help Enterprises, you get all of the above,” Parisa said.
At Guardian Village, more than 30% of the complex’s units are reserved specifically for farmworkers or families earning between 15% and 60% of the area median income. As Collishaw said, the investments put into the project will allow it to maintain its affordability to these families for decades.
The community is also designed with environmental sustainability in mind, and it has its own Health Action Plan (HAP), which identifies health concerns in the area and lists targeted outcomes for improvement. Thanks to the partnership between Enterprise and UnitedHealth Group, each resident at Guardian Village will have their own individual health plan, and on-site support services will be available to residents to help them attain their health goals.
Parisa and Steven Henry, who is senior director of treasury investment management at UnitedHealth Group, said many studies show the interconnection of health and housing, and while housing is vital to a person’s health, it is also important to continue to support people’s health through their housing.
The project is also special because Guardian Village is developed on a state surplus site — meaning land owned by the state of California that is no longer used or needed. In January 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to allow for the repurposing of these sites for sustainable, affordable housing projects; Guardian Village is the first housing project completed under this directive.
Beyond these aspects, Guardian Village holds significance to the community because of its history, which the complex’s name honors. Once home to a California National Guard armory, the site has a flagpole installed in front of its office, as well as photos and recognition of veterans inside. In addition to a ribbon cutting ceremony, Reedley’s American Legion Post 35 held a brief flag raising ceremony as part of the project’s grand opening.
Local residents interested in learning more about the rental communities and housing assistance programs offered by Self-Help Enterprises can visit their website at selfhelpenterprises.org or call 559-651-1000.
