Results of affordable senior housing lottery announced
Several dozen low-income seniors will soon be on their way to moving into an affordable-housing project known as Vista Grande Court in Glendale, following the results of a housing lottery for its 66 units that were announced just days ago.
A lottery for 31 additional affordable apartment units, not limited to seniors and located in five new complexes across the city, will be held on Wednesday.
“These new lotteries are another step forward for providing opportunities for [our] low-income population,” said Glendale city spokeswoman Eliza Papazian, adding that the city has supported several affordable-housing initiatives during the past few years.
Of nearly 6,000 applicants hoping to score an apartment in the city-spearheaded senior complex at 1116 Sonora Ave., 570 were randomly selected on Oct. 24 to enter the final vetting phase, Papazian said.
Results of the lottery can be viewed here.
“Even though your number got pulled, you have to go through a verification process to make sure you actually do meet the qualifications,” Papazian said.
That process will include an interview and additional screening.
Priority will be given to the order the applicants were selected, according to lottery documents.
All applicants, whether their numbers were selected or not, will be notified by mail of the results, Papazian said. Move-ins should be completed by the end of the year, she added.
Roughly 18,000 people entered the lottery for the 31 units that are considered very-low income, save one, which is a low-income unit.
Those units were the result of developers seeking what’s known as a density bonus, or the ability to increase a project’s density by 35% in exchange for making 11% to 15% of the units affordable.
The additional units are located at 3901-3915 San Fernando Road, 507-525 W. Colorado St., 515 W. Broadway, 1407 W. Glenoaks Blvd. and 518 Glenwood Road, all of which are market-rate complexes.
These are the first affordable housing lotteries held by the city since 2018, when about 7,800 people entered a bid for eight affordable units at the ONYX apartments.
Taken individually, the units offered in each lottery pale in comparison to the city’s affordable-housing needs, some Glendale officials have indicated in the past.
However, in the past year, Glendale’s City Council and Housing Authority have rolled out several initiatives geared toward increasing the affordable-housing stock or making it more accessible to certain populations.
About two months ago, the council and authority voted to acquire two large properties for a total of $25 million to develop into what could potentially equate to more than 200 affordable units.
In May, the city adopted an inclusionary zoning ordinance that requires most new local developments to include affordable housing.
A senior housing subsidy pilot program is also set to roll out in the next few months.