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El Carrillo L.P.& The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
Build Housing for Vulnerable Populations 

Innovative El Carrillo Studios and community partnerships dedication September 6th

Santa Barbara, CA, September 1, 2005 — El Carrillo L.P. and The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara will celebrate the groundbreaking of their much anticipated El Carrillo Studios; new permanently affordable rental units, designed to serve very low income, and homeless or near-homeless citizens of Santa Barbara.  The El Carrillo Studios are poised to be yet another example of the innovative solutions the Housing Authority has come up with to meet the needs of Santa Barbara’s low-income population including downtown workers, seniors and those with disabilities or disadvantages.

The construction of El Carrillo is a response to the growing homeless population and the closure of several other affordable housing Single Room Occupancy (SRO) structures in the past several years (including the Virginian, Carrillo, and California hotels) which forced many fixed income seniors and low income residents to take up shelter at the Cacique Street Shelter or similar transitional housing facilities.  The El Carrillo Studios will provide some desperately needed housing relief to an underserved population. 

“The City of Santa Barbara has identified homelessness as a priority and El Carrillo is an example of the Housing Authority making available both permanent affordable housing and specialized services,” said Skip Szymanski, Chief Operating Officer for the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.  “Our partners in this effort, including The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara and Work Training Programs, Inc. have ensured that El Carrillo will be able to serve these vulnerable populations,” said Szymanski.

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara, a local nonprofit which strives to expand the production, renovation and preservation of affordable housing within Santa Barbara County, is financing $1,000,000 of the construction of El Carrillo. 

The Housing Authority is also enlisting the help of the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit Work Training Programs, Inc., who will serve a vital role in the success of the new housing model.  Work Training Programs, which provides independent living and employment support services to individuals with disabilities or disadvantages, will help El Carrillo residents to live and work as productive members of the community.  Through this partnership with the Housing Authority, Work Training Programs will employ an on-site Resident Services Coordinator to offer free, weekly, on-site workshops and classes for El Carrillo residents, in addition to providing a wide range of residential, day program, and employment services.  Pacific Capital Bank will donate six or more personal computers to El Carrillo’s community room, equipped with free internet access.  Work Training Programs will also provide free computer classes for residents.

El Carrillo Studios will be situated at 315 W. Carrillo Street, adjacent to the Housing Authority’s award-winning property, Casa de Las Fuentes, which has garnered local, state, and national attention and recognitions for its success as an affordable housing solution for the downtown workforce.  El Carrillo Studios will consist of 61 new single room occupancy (SRO) units and a two-bedroom resident manager unit.  Given the anticipated income levels of the individuals who will reside in El Carrillo, rents that will be charged for the units will be affordable at a debt-to-income ratio of no more than 30%. In addition, rents will be $300 to $585 less than an average studio apartment currently available on the market in the City of Santa Barbara.

Guest speakers at the event include Mayor Marty Blum; Catherine Woodford, Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara; Roger Horton, President of the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County; Cindy Burton, Executive Director of Work Training Programs, Inc., and Skip Szymanski, Chief Operating Officer of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.

The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is a local public agency that provides safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible local residents with limited incomes, through a variety of federal, state, local and private resources.   Since 1970, the Housing Authority has developed and/or secured over 3,000 units of affordable rental housing for Santa Barbara. For more information, please visit their website at www.hacsb.org.

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Note to editors: Architectural graphics, slideshow, and detailed description of El Carrillo Studios available by request.

View Slideshow