Bishop Street Studios Provides Housing for Adults with Mental Illness

Bishop Street Studios hosted its Grand Opening on Saturday, November 16th, welcoming 33 adults with mental illness to their new homes. This project was a joint venture between HASLO, Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA), and Red Stone Equity Partners, LLC. Funding for the project came from multiple sources: the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC); the City and County of San Luis Obispo; Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund; as well as numerous Capital Campaign Donors to TMHA.

The County of San Luis Obispo sold TMHA the 1.3 acres for the project with the intent to restore the old Sunny Acres Orphanage and use it as affordable housing for TMHA clients. Along with the restoration of that main building, three additional buildings were constructed.

Tours of the restored orphanage were part of the Grand Opening. Shown here is the Community Room.

All potential Bishop Street Studios residents are referred to TMHA by SLO County Behavioral Health Services staff. They must be over 18 years of age and have the skills to live independently. Supportive services are provided to all residents and there is a Resident Manager who lives on site.

Residents have the convenience of close access to bus stops, grocery stores, pharmacies, and employment and health services.

Arroyo Grande gets 20 new affordable housing apartment units

Arroyo Grande Mayor Pro Tem Kristen Barneich and Caleb Mott, Legislative Assistant to District 4 County Supervisor Lynn Compton, hammer the “Best Wishes” board onto the building.

The Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo (HASLO) and the City Arroyo Grande celebrated new affordable housing units coming to Arroyo Grande with a wall-raising on Thursday. 

The city of Arroyo Grande will get 20 new apartments that were sponsored by HASLO and its affiliate the San Luis Obispo non-profit Housing Corporation. 

Public officials attended the wall-raising ceremony and began with writing "best wishes" to the future residents of the new apartment units on plywood board with brightly colored permanent markers. 

The attendees nailed the board to the building framing so that it would be a permanent part of it. 

There will be one, two and three bedroom apartments available that will feature rents as low as 50 percent of what market rents are.

The Halcyon Collective is what the name of the project is and it is being built to strict Green Point Environmental standards according to HASLO representatives. 

Solar panels will be installed on site which will account for all the common area energy usage as well as half of the tenant energy usage. 

The driveway, walkway and parking areas will be covered in permeable concrete and pavers to help storm water quickly get back into the ground water basin for reuse. 

A greywater system will be constructed for the laundry facilities so that water may be reused for landscaping purposes.

HASLO hopes to improve and transform lives with the completion of this new affordable housing project. 

HASLO EARNS "HIGH PERFORMER AWARD"

HUD reviewed and measured HASLO’s performance using 14 different metric indicators and awarded HASLO a “High Performer” designation.  HASLO received 135 points out of a maximum possible score of 135.  Scott Smith, HASLO Executive Director, indicated that the organization considers both landlords and clients its customers, and places a high value on service and performance.”

"Affordable Housing News" highlights 860 on the Wye

The Summer 2016 edition of "Affordable Housing News" highlights HASLO's new development, 860 on the Wye, in which half of the 20 apartments are reserved for veterans that have been homeless. 

Read the article on page 72 by clicking the title above.