Developer Breaks Ground on 311 Units in Simi Valley

USA Properties Fund has started construction on a pair of apartment communities in Simi Valley totaling 311 units; a combination of market rate and affordable senior units. The adjacent complexes, which have an overall price tag of $114 million, will provide mixed-income, multigenerational housing on a roughly 13-acre parcel called the Landing at Arroyo – a market-rate apartment community with amenities – and Vintage at Sycamore – an affordable senior community open to residents 62 years old and older.USA Properties partnered with Century Housing, East West Bank and Gables Residential on funding. The Area Housing Authority of the county of Ventura contributed a $3.5 million subsidy for Vintage at Sycamore, which will total 99 senior units. The Vintage apartment community is for lower-income seniors. Households earning $45,200 a year or less would rent a one-bedroom unit for $1,059 a month; households with earnings of $63,300 or less would rent for $1,483.This $32-million complex will include a clubroom, fitness center, a computer center with wi-fi and printers, a pool, an outdoor seating area with barbecues and a pet area. Apartments will feature energy-efficient appliances, patio or balcony, and laundry rooms.The $82-million 212-apartment Landing at Arroyo promises a clubhouse with a kitchen, fitness center, saltwater pool and spa with cabanas, outdoor dining areas with fire pits, and a dog area among other amenities.Located on the former Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District’s headquarters at 1692 Sycamore Drive, the twin developments will offer easy access to the 118 Freeway as well as local shopping centers, restaurants, public schools, parks and a hospital.“This is highly sought-after land. It’s an excellent location,” said USA Properties Fund President Geoff Brown in a statement. “We’ve been working closely with the city of Simi Valley for several years, and we share a commitment of providing quality housing that meets the needs of residents.”USA Properties already has a history with the city of Simi Valley, where the entity owns and manages the Las Serenas and Vintage Paseo apartment communities. “We chose USA Properties because of its positive history with the city, as well as its willingness to provide much-needed affordable housing for our senior community,” said Simi Valley Mayor Pro Tem Dee Dee Cavanaugh — a former director on the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District Board. “Now, as a member of the City Council, I have the unique opportunity to be involved on the design and building side and will see this development to its completion.” The new establishments, which will total six buildings worth of units, aim to help address California’s affordable housing crisis as well as serve senior citizens.“It’s no secret there is an extreme lack of affordable housing opportunities in our local communities,” said Michael Nigh, Executive Director of the Area Housing Authority of the County of Ventura. “Vintage at Sycamore will add much-needed units to the inventory of affordable housing units for low-income seniors in Ventura County.”Added Simi Valley City Council Member Elaine Litster, “We anticipate these two apartment communities to be a welcome answer to many of the housing needs in our community. Simi Valley is experiencing a greater need for senior housing, particularly affordable housing. Vintage at Sycamore is filling a need and providing beautiful, new housing for our deserving seniors.”The Landing and Vintage are not the only Valley area projects which USA Properties currently has in development. Construction began this year to replace 2.2 acres of industrial facilities in Panorama City with 239 units of senior apartments. That project will be replacing existing warehouses and auto repair hangars at 7700 N. Woodman Ave. with senior affordable housing in a 280,000-square-foot apartment complex. USA Properties has also previously built a similar senior housing community in Panorama City on a site a block north at 7840 Woodman Ave.Founded in 1981, USA Properties Fund Inc. is headquartered in Roseville, which is near Sacramento.