Colonia San Martin
Permanent Supportive Housing

This aerial image looking North was taken on September 19, 2008
by Donny Lieberman/Sunseri Construction

     Colonia San Martin is officially open.  Final Certification of Occupancy was issued by the building inspectors on  November 14, 2008. Tenant selection began a few weeks earlier with a lottery to determine the order in which applications would be processed. That lottery, with 360 applicants for 60 apartments, was a sure indication of pent-up demand. Applications are still coming in, and applicants are being placed on a waiting list. As of May 15, 2009, Colonia San Martin has reached 100% occupancy.

     Colonia San Martin is the AIDS Housing Alliance’s (AHA) most ambitious permanent supportive housing project to date. Located in South Sacramento near Florin Road, it consists of 60 brand new apartments, 40 of which are reserved for individuals and families where at least one person has HIV/AIDS and has very low income. The other 20 are affordable to those with low-income regardless of HIV status. It has taken a little over five years from concept to completion.

     The three-acre site also comes with a community building which includes a large dining/meeting room and kitchen, a residents’ computer room, case management offices, a medical exam room and smaller meeting rooms. Other amenities include a children’s playground, a community garden with raised beds, a fruit orchard, and a central lawn and plaza area. The buildings exceed current energy efficiency standards by at least 25% due to the solar panels which generate electricity and pre-heat water for the laundry.  Many ‘green’ practices were incorporated in the construction and landscaping including a system of bio-swales that contain and divert storm water to the water table rather than taxing the County's sewer system. 

     AHA has long recognized, and national research supports, the principle that secure and safe supportive housing is the single most important factor in whether people living with HIV/AIDS, or people who have mental health problems and might be wrestling with addiction recovery, improve their health outcomes. People in secure housing are more likely to make and keep medical appointments, follow medication regimens, eat well and live generally healthier lifestyles. Risk behavior decreases – it is easier to manage safe sex and even clean needles in a home rather than the street or some other rougher environment. In a truly profound way, HOUSING IS HEALTHCARE.

     Rents at Colonia are very low, and, after operations expenses, would not support any kind of debt. To make a project like this happen, funds had to be raised cover the land purchase, construction, architecture, and a myriad of other costs before construction could begin. This multi-million dollar project has been made possible with funds from HOPWA/HUD through Sacramento County's Department of Human Assistance, the Federal Home Loan Bank, Federal and State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, a generous grant from Kaiser Permanente and donations from our supporters. Putting together the finances and managing the project would have been impossible without the expertise of our Development Partners at Mercy Housing California, our fantastic General Contractor Sunseri Construction, and the architectural services of Mogavero-Notestine and Partners.

     The continued success of Colonia will depend on grants and donations. Please remember the AIDS Housing Alliance in your charitable giving.

Read a Sacramento Business Journal article dated November 13, 2008:
"SMUD installs solar power affordable housing."

To view a library of additional progress photographs, please CLICK HERE.