CA funds $28M affordable housing in first for Fresno County town, but plans unclear
A new affordable housing project that’s the first of its kind of outside of Fresno County’s largest cities got an influx of $28 million to move forward in Sanger, county officials said on Thursday.
The Sendero Commons will be 88 units of affordable housing for people with serious behavioral health needs and those who are or at risk of becoming homeless, according to the county’s plans. Forty-five of the units will be reserved for veterans at the site on Cherry and Dewitt avenues in southern Sanger.
The money from the state’s Homekey+ funding includes about $18 million reallocated from the 2022 No Place Like Home program, according to county officials. Fresno County contributed $5.6 million from its affordable housing funding allocations and pledged about $7.6 million in rental subsidies over the next decade.
The project is a partnership between the county and RH Community Builders, which also is a landlord and service provider at affordable housing projects in Fresno. RH oversees similar dwellings like one at a former Motel 6, Fresno City College Ram Housing and Crossroads Village.
Tenants who are eligible can access supportive service on-site, which would be provided by the county, according to the plans.
There are about 4,300 people living on the street either in a shelter or unsheltered in Fresno County, according to the most recent public numbers. The city of Sanger’s housing element document lists about 36 people who lived unhoused in the city in April 2023, the most recent count.
UP Holdings California LLC, commonly called UPholdings, will serve as the developer. They are behind a number of Fresno-area properties, like Crossroads Village and Dakota in Fresno and Butterfly Gardens in Clovis.
Sanger City Manager Nathan Olson said the project is administerial, meaning as long it fits the state’s requirements it will go forward. The City Council and city planning commission would not have a say on the housing like they would for many new projects in town.
“Until we get an official application, we won’t know,” he said. “It’s all speculation at this point.”
