People's Place opens 69 affordable apartments, 21 reserved for farmworkers; grand opening set for Oct. 22

People's Self-Help Housing representatives updated the Santa Paula City Council on Tuesday about People's Place, a 69-unit affordable housing development on West Harvard Boulevard that the nonprofit said reached about 90% occupancy.

"Of course, the total unit count is 69 apartments," said Kent Ragero of People's Self-Help Housing, noting the project includes 22 one‑bedroom, 29 two‑bedroom and 17 three‑bedroom apartments plus a manager unit. Ragero said 21 units are set aside specifically for farmworkers under the state's Joe Serna farmworker program and that the project used multiple funding sources, including a roughly $4,000,000 state grant and low‑income housing tax credits allocated by TCAC.

Ragero told council the development began construction in 2022 and has required careful compliance with HUD and tax‑credit deadlines. He said People's Self‑Help is the project owner, general contractor and property manager on the site and that the underwriting assumed some investor and lender obligations: "We do have a small-ish loan — I think it's about $6,000,000 or so on here." He added that rents were underwritten without project‑based Section 8 assistance and that the rental structure aims to cover operating expenses and debt service.

In a public comment that followed, Soule Lucero, Ventura County Housing Coordinator with the Ventura County Housing Coalition, described conversations with residents who moved into People's Place: "One family I spoke with paid more than $2,000 at their previous rental; now they're going to be paying less than $1,500," she said, urging the council to support more similar projects.

Council members asked staff to follow up with additional clarifications — specifically, the number of formerly homeless residents who live at the project and the presence of electric vehicle charging infrastructure — and staff agreed to provide written answers. Ragero also confirmed a public grand‑opening celebration scheduled for Oct. 22 at noon.

Why it matters: Council members said People's Place is among the first state‑funded farmworker new construction projects in the county in many years and represents a permanent deed‑restricted community asset. City staff said the project's mix and outreach were shaped by competing program incentives from HCD/TCAC and county awards; the council asked staff to distribute the presentation materials and follow‑up answers to resident questions.

Next steps: Staff will circulate the requested clarifications (homelessness origin data, EV charging plans, and service‑delivery timelines) and the city will highlight the public grand opening.