Community Development Partners Opens The Orchard to Serve Chronically Homeless in Santa Ana

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Development Partners is pleased to announce the grand opening of The Orchard.  A ceremony to mark the milestone will take place today, February 1, 2018 from 11am-1pm.  The event will be held at the property, located at 2151 East 1st St. in Santa Ana, and will include speakers: Judson Brown, Housing Division Manager, Community Development Agency; Gary Wood, Chair, Community Redevelopment and Housing Commission; Marcie Chavez, Director, Los Angeles Office of Public Housing, Region IX; Larry Haynes, Executive Director, Mercy House; Kyle Paine, President, Community Development Partners; and other key project partners. The $18 million project transformed a blighted motel into a 72-unit Permanent Supportive Housing project exclusively for chronically homeless individuals and small families. The Orchard is Santa Ana's largest Permanent Supportive Housing project to date.

The rehabilitated Orchard development features 72 units (including one manager's unit), and consists of 58 studio and 14 one-bedroom units. Upgrades include all new unit interiors, on-site resident services and property management offices, an outdoor courtyard, a laundry room, a large community garden, edible landscaping and space for sustainability education, along with a 1,200 square-foot commercial kitchen and dining room which will provide residents with free daily meals.

The project provides Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) utilizing the Housing First model for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. The Housing First approach assists people experiencing homelessness in finding and maintaining housing quickly. Stable housing is seen as the foundation to pursue health and independence goals. PSH combines housing and supportive services. Housing First and PSH have been successfully used nationally as complementary tools for ending chronic homelessness. 

Kyle Paine, President of Community Development Partners, the project's developer, says, "The Orchard is a step towards addressing the homeless crisis in Santa Ana's Civic Center, and acts as a model for other municipalities when trying to solve their own housing needs.  Residents will benefit from a high level of support, which we believe will lead to a high level of success."

The Orchard brings together a diverse set of entities, including: The City of Santa Ana which is providing rental assistance and capital for the rehab; Community Development Partners, the developer; Mercy House, offering wrap-around supportive services for residents with onsite case management staff, and Continuum of Care (CoC) funding for services; Integrity Housing, non-profit development partner; The Ecology Center, who helped design the on-site garden and will provide ongoing sustainability programming; Official No One Left Behind, operating the commercial kitchen; Veterans Yoga Project, offering weekly on-site classes; and Faces of Santa Ana, responsible for painting the mural and offering arts programming.

About Community Development Partners
Founded in 2011, Community Development Partners develops and operates sustainable, life-enhancing affordable housing with a focus on long term community engagement and innovative design. The company's mission is to repair and strengthen the fabric of cities and towns by meeting the housing needs of local citizens through the thoughtful planning and creative development of sustainable, affordable communities. The company has offices in Newport Beach, California and Portland, Oregon and has developed and currently operates properties in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon.  For more information, visit: communitydevpartners.com.

Contact: Beth Binger
BCIpr
619-987-6658
[email protected]

SOURCE Community Development Partners

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