Garden Grove approves preliminary award for 81-unit St. Anselm senior housing project

Garden Grove city officials on Tuesday approved a preliminary award letter that commits local housing funds and project-based rental assistance for a proposed 81-unit senior affordable housing development at St. Anselm’s Episcopal Church.

The award letter commits the city and the Garden Grove Housing Authority to provide up to $2,000,000 from Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds and 21 project‑based vouchers to support the Saint Anselm Senior Apartments development, project representatives and city staff said during a joint presentation to the Housing Authority and City Council.

Timothy Throne, who introduced the item for staff, said the award letter “provides the developer a commitment of housing funds and project based vouchers for the construction of an 81 unit senior affordable housing development at St. Anselm’s Episcopal Church.” He told the board the developer had leveraged other local financing sources and planned to pursue significant state awards under the HCD 2025 housing super NOFA.

Why it matters: The project pairs affordable housing construction with on-site supportive services, reserving 21 units as permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless seniors and preserving the existing church presence on the site. City and housing authority approval of the award letter enables the developer to proceed with applications for larger funding sources; the local funds and vouchers were described as critical to assembling that financing.

Project details and financing

According to staff, the proposed Saint Anselm Senior Apartments would be located at 9473 Larson Avenue and adjacent parcels in the city’s Koreatown area and would include 81 rental units (31 studios, 37 one‑bedrooms and 13 two‑bedrooms, the latter count including a manager’s unit). The project design described 21 units as permanent supportive housing (PSH) restricted to extremely low‑income seniors at 30 percent of area median income (AMI), with priority for chronically homeless individuals eligible under the Mental Health Services Act. The remaining 59 units were described in the staff presentation as targeting very low‑income seniors (noted in staff materials as “40–50% AMI”).

The project will include roughly 63,750 square feet of residential and amenity space, a 5,000‑square‑foot interior community area that staff said would house services including a health and wellness clinic, and approximately 13,000 square feet of open space. Korean Community Services (KCS) will lead a service plan that staff said aims to provide case management, medical and mental‑health care, substance‑use disorder treatment, life‑skills training and recreational programming.

Funding and conditions

Throne and supporting materials listed several financing elements the developer expects to pursue: $16,900,000 through the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) 2025 housing super NOFA (round 3), four‑percent tax credits from the Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC), and tax‑exempt bonds considered by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC). The developer also reported securing or leveraging local sources cited in the presentation, including $2,500,000 from the Orange County Housing Finance Trust and $2,500,000 in CalOptima funding, though those amounts and sources were described as part of the overall funding strategy rather than as firm commitments in the city award letter.

Throne emphasized that the award letter and local commitments are contingent on the developer meeting “certain funding and programmatic milestones,” including a subsidy‑layering review and an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The housing authority and city will execute an affordable housing agreement only after outstanding funding sources are secured and required approvals completed.

Developer and service partners

Maurice Ramirez of Domus Development identified Domus as the project developer and said the firm builds affordable housing throughout California. Ellen Ahn, introduced as executive director of Korean Community Services (KCS Health Center), said KCS would lead wraparound services and detailed existing county and state program links: “At our other site … we’re currently contracted with Meals on Wheels” and “KCS currently offers psychiatry, therapy, care management, as well as other Medicaid‑reimbursed mental health services,” she said.

Council and authority votes

The Housing Authority voted first; the chair announced nine yes votes on the housing authority roll call. The City Council then took a separate vote with a 7‑yes roll call to approve the award letter so the city could execute the affordable housing agreement and related documents upon successful award of outstanding funding.

What remains

City staff and the developer said next steps include completing planning entitlements, finalizing project design, completing environmental review, and pursuing the HCD NOFA and other financing sources. The award letter itself contains contingencies that staff said would prevent the city from committing funds until required reviews and approvals were complete.

The presentation and discussion are part of the record for both the Garden Grove Housing Authority and the Garden Grove City Council; staff recommended and the boards authorized the authority director to make minor modifications and sign the award letter on behalf of the city and the housing authority if needed.