A three-story permanent supportive housing development for homeless people is coming to the eastern Goleta Valley.

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara is building Hollister Lofts, a Spanish-style apartment complex at 4560 Hollister Ave. that will provide housing for 34 formerly homeless individuals near the Goleta Cemetery, east of San Marcos High School. 

There will be 35 units: 29 studios, five one-bedroom apartments, and a two-bedroom manager’s unit.

Additionally, there will be an elevator for accessibility, bike storage, outdoor patio space, and 18 parking spaces for residents and guests, according to the construction plans. 

“People described this to me as an undevelopable site when I first said where it was,” said John Polanskey, director of housing development with the Housing Authority.

Construction began in November and is aimed to be completed by spring 2027. 

This development is the first permanent affordable housing built on county-owned property.

“But it is not the last; I am so committed because the government needs to lead by example,” Board Chair and Second District Supervisor Laura Capps said. 

Residents will be able to access supportive services such as case management, wellness programs and educational resources through groups like Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness, United Way of Northern Santa Barbara County and The Housing Authority’s Resident Services Department, according to Polanskey. 

Once residents get their key, they are connected with support services.

“Just giving somebody a key and saying, ‘Okay, now you are housed,’ is only the very start of the road to where the individual really wants to be,” Polanskey said.

Individuals will get placed into the Goleta housing development through referrals by support service providers already working with the individuals. 

Residents living in the development will be expected to follow rules, similar to any other apartment complex, Polanskey said. 

Individuals will enter into a month-to-month lease and will be required to pay 30% of their income, if they have one. The rest is paid through Section 8 Rental Assistance Program, he said.  

“The permanent part of this supportive housing is not that the person signs up for a lifetime, but our hope is that the individual will stabilize and get back to work or school,” Polanskey said.

The total project costs $31 million, with the project receiving $15.5 million in federal tax credit equity, according to Polanskey. 

Funding is coming from the No Place Like Home Program, a state funding program through the California Department of Housing and Community Development to support permanent supportive housing. 

Additionally, the county is contributing through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to support the affordability aspect of the development on top of the County Board of Supervisors approving the County Loan Agreement for Hollister Lofts.

Other sources include the Banc of California and Enterprise Community Partners.

Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, applauded the housing development at the project’s groundbreaking on Friday. 

“This is a very big day and it has taken a long time, but that makes it I think even more important and potent because it shows the determination of the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara to persist in a tough environment,” he said. 

Hart sat on the county Board of Supervisors in 2020 when this project first came forth.

Polanskey also said he is aware some neighboring residents are against this housing development due to safety concerns, especially with San Marcos High nearby. 

But, he believes those concerns will be dissolved once the neighbors actually see the residents in the development. 

“It is not unusual once construction is complete and we are occupied for people to come by and say ‘I recognize that person, they used to hang around Vons and I wondered what happened to them,’” he said. 

But this is not the only new housing development coming to the county. 
The Housing Authority will break ground on Jacaranda Court, a rental community for moderate-income households that will replace a city-owned parking lot at 400 W. Carrillo St. in Santa Barbara on Monday.