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GlobeSt.com: Why is it important for affordable projects to include a certain percentage of units for those with a developmental disability?

Nathan Schmid: Civic San Diego is one of the major funding sources for Ouchi, and they strongly encourage developers like Chelsea and others in projects that have their funding (there was upwards of $5.4 million in this project) to set aside special-needs space for units at the developers' discretion. In collaboration with San Diego Regional Center, the largest non-profit in San Diego County (serving persons with intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy) and Chelsea, our Ouchi project is right down the street from Independence Point, the first-ever new and affordable project with units designated for those with developmental disabilities. I have a daughter with CP, and my biggest worry is when my wife and I are gone and my daughter is an adult and dependent on care from others, where is she going to live and who is going to take care of her? What happens to my adult children when I'm gone?

In early 2009, I received a letter from SDRC that went out to 15,000 families that said that they wanted to form an affordable housing nonprofit. The greatest need for this housing is the developmentally disabled adult consumer who can live with varying levels of independence and supported-living services provided and funded by the SDRC. Thirteen thousand of the 26,000 people served by the Regional Center are 18 or older, and 90% of those adults live with a parent or sibling for the majority of their life. A huge majority of that demographic receive only $895 from Social Security to live. To live in a subsidized-housing project, you have to prove you make one-and-a-half to two times the rent in total income, which makes even the lowest-priced affordable housing beyond their means. It takes an incredible amount of work to put these projects together; they are incredibly expensive to build. Linda Hermanson had Section 8; she was living in a very inaccessible mobile home and was able to transfer her Section 8 rental subsidy to new wheelchair-accessible unit with roll-in shower. Her out-of-pocket expense for rent is $230 a month, and this two-bedroom unit allows her to have full-time care for the first time in her life, keeping her from having to live in a group home in the future.

GlobeSt.com: How has San Diego become one of the top providers of these units in California and even the nation?

Jim Schmid: I think there's a number of factors. The San Diego Regional Center is excellent; we have 21 of them in the state, and when they made housing a priority in their two-county area, that was a big statement. Most of the regional centers have been lobbying at the state level. They are supported by the Department of Developmental Services, and these constituencies said housing a big problem; they can't afford it, so it needs to become a priority of the state.

Over the years, there's been this drumbeat of, “Hey, our people need housing.” The afflicted get older and need a place to live, and housing is critical. At the state level, there are certain programs—Senator Toni Atkins is a director of funding sources, and there's the tax-credit program to help disabled people, and this has had a sort of trickle-down effect, so there's simultaneous awareness at the local level. These folks can't compete for housing; it's hard for well-bodied people to compete, much less the disabled. A lot of them have mobility challenges, and they need first-floor or elevator-served units. There's a growing awareness in the state and certainly in our local agencies to get these done and learn about it.

GlobeSt.com: What can developers in other cities learn from San Diego's approach to this market?

Jim Schmid: Developers build where there's money. Because these low-income units need subsidy from multiple sources, the civic policy of a small number of set-aside units is helpful, and it doesn't financially damage the developer or the City. Ouchi only has seven units set aside for developmentally disabled adults, but all of a sudden, we're being interviewed on this issue. Now Nathan now has other developers chasing him to develop more.

When we see stuff going on, we want to see if there are opportunities. This is one of the many good causes, and it has probably been underserved. But there are a lot of special-needs groups out there: the veterans are very deserving; there's the homeless, too. This is a quieter problem. But certainly, for the most part, these are people who didn't engage in bad behaviors, and they deserve a humane group to help.

For many of the special-needs population problems we have worked with in the past, we have to fold in services to support the people. In the case of the developmentally disabled, this support automatically comes with the client and the 48-year history of the San Diego Regional Center. From a developer's perspective, it's attractive; we need to build them physically and get them financed, but the regional center provides the services.

Nathan Schmid: Between Independence Point and the seven units at Ouchi—as well as 17 units in Imperial County—there are now 49 units in San Diego and Imperial counties for the developmentally disabled. That's upwards of $20 million in new, affordable and accessible housing with zero financial investment towards the actual construction by the state's Department of Developmental Services. We're working on another three projects that would set aside 68 additional units and would cost $20 million to build. We're expanding, and Chelsea is working with at least six other regional centers to try and expand our model throughout the state.

The Department of Developmental Services serves 325,000 people in the state with a budget of more than $6.9 billion a year (the state budget for the developmentally disabled system will be $6.9 billion on July 1, 2017)—we're talking a third of a million people. We've done all that we can locally, and people are starting to catch on. People with epilepsy, autism, CP and other cognitive disorders need this housing. For folks like Linda, there are never-ending surgeries in your life to adjust your neck, back and legs. This helps keep her from going into a nursing home to recover from these surgeries. It saves the system significant money as this type of housing option allows people to go home and have one person take care of her rather than going into a more expensive group or nursing home.