Colusa County, in partnership with the Regional Housing Authority, is seeking $20 million in state funds to build an apartment complex in Colusa that provides housing for low-income individuals and families, and people with special needs, including chronic mental health issues that contribute to homelessness.
The funds, if awarded, would come from the Department of Housing and Community Development that have been made available by the state through the “No Place Like Home Program,” said Gus Bacerra, executive director of the Regional Housing Authority, at the board’s Dec. 14 meeting.
Colusa County has been allocated $500,000 in non-competitive funds to help with housing homeless individuals, and Bacerra said that money can be used as leverage to apply for competitive funds from the same program.
Colusa County Behavioral Health has already committed $1 million in Mental Health Act funding, and the Colusa County Department of Health and Human Services has already committed about $200,000 toward the project for a total commitment of $1.7 million, county officials said
The Board of Supervisors authorized the loan application from the state at their Dec. 14 meeting.
Bacerra said Regional Housing Authority has already acquired land in the 1700 block of State Route 20 between the Assembly of God Church and shopping center to build one, two, and three bedroom apartments, where people would have access to shopping, county social and behavioral health services, and other amenities. About 13 apartments would be designated for “special needs” residents.
Bacerra said Regional Housing worked together with county staff to select a name with a historical reference for the 49-unit complex.
“Rancho Colus was the name of the original land grant (from Mexico) that was used to acquire what is now the City of Colusa,” Bacerra said.
The project is currently in the design stage.
“We have all sorts of work to do ahead of us before the Jan. 19 application date,” said Bacerra, who expects the competitive funding to be announced in the summer of 2022.
“If we are successful, then we would go into our next round of financing called low-income tax credits, which would be September or October of next year,” Bacerra said. “If all the stars align correctly, and we get all the layers of financing (a combination of grants and loans) that we need, we would expect to be breaking ground sometime in the spring of 2023,” Bacerra said. ■