Transit-oriented housing in La Mesa gets City Council OK

A new apartment complex is coming to the long-deserted 1.2-acre lot at the corner of Allison and Date avenues in downtown La Mesa.

USA Properties Fund, based out of Roseville, got unanimous City Council approval on Tuesday for a ground lease with La Mesa to build affordable housing on the city-owned parcel near Spring Street, just steps from a San Diego Trolley stop.

Formerly the home of the city of La Mesa’s police station until it moved a block away more than a decade ago, the new four-story project at 8181 Allison Ave. will have 147 apartment homes with one- and two-bedroom plans, onsite parking for 117 vehicles, two courtyards, a fitness room, a laundry room, a rooftop sky deck terrace and a club room with a hospitality kitchen.

As part of the amenities, the developers are offering onsite support services — possibly to include educational classes, after-school programs and senior services — for people in need, as well as public transportation passes.

The complex will be across the street from the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District hub, kitty-corner from the La Mesa Civic Center, near the downtown Village and close to the library, post office, grocery stores and banking, as well as near the city’s senior center and community center.

The development, which is expected to start in 2022 and be completed in 2023, has household income eligibility requirements for renters that will range from 30 percent to 70 percent of the area’s median income of about $97,000.

Those earning salaries between $29,000 and $76,000 annually will be eligible to rent an apartment. There will be 103 one-bedroom/one-bath units and 44 two-bedroom, two-bath units.

With the dissolution of redevelopment agencies in the state in 2021, the city was required per the California state redevelopment law to put affordable housing on the parcel. The site will continue to be owned by La Mesa, with the developer managing the property under a 60-year lease.

The City Council’s vote was 3-0 with City Councilman Bill Baber recusing himself because he has been a board member of the County of San Diego Countywide Redevelopment Successor Agency. As part of the vote, the City Council had to reclassify the zoning for the complex, from Civic Center to downtown commercial.

Milo Terzich, vice president of development and entitlements for USA Properties Fund, called the coming development “a walkers’ paradise (and) one of the premier sites in our pipleline... one of the crown jewels,” — perhaps as a nod to La Mesa’s moniker “Jewel of the Hills.”

More than 50 locals praised the coming affordable housing, though at least one resident was unhappy that the area’s zoning would change and no longer require mixed use options onsite. Another asked for a change in the the current color scheme of whites and neutrals with saturated colors, saying those tones don’t fit the downtown village’s “vibe.”

The San Diego Trolley goes by the long-empty lot that will soon become a 147-unit affordable apartment complex in La Mesa.

(Karen Pearlman / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

City Councilman Colin Parent applauded the affordability factor and said he was thrilled that the site is near transit stops. He also shared and supported La Mesa City Council member Jack Shu’s environmental concerns, which were explained to Terzich.

Apartments will be furnished with “Energy Star”-rated appliances and will also include dual-paned, energy-efficient windows throughout, and there will be electric vehicle charging stations onsite, as well as water-efficient plumbing fixtures and drought-tolerant landscaping.

But Shu said he was concerned that not enough was being done to offset greenhouse gas emissions and reminded the city that it has declared an emergency climate crisis that needs immediate attention. Shu asked for changes in energy needs to be made now in the development stage rather than retrofitting the project at a future date, which could be more expensive.

“I am glad we are able to do something good in La Mesa, but it is not good enough,” Shu said. “We have to raise that bar.”

La Mesa resident Wendy Mihalic said that the current plan of electric appliances was negated by “pipes and multiple meters for methane gas water heating” and that “there are cost-effective highly efficient electric heat pumps available today that will result in zero green GHG emissions.”

La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis said he was pleased that the development could “check off a bunch of boxes for us.

Arapostathis said he was pleased that the city was pushing forward with the project, acknowledging that “Nothing’s perfect — I think we can all agree with that.”