The Chula Vista City Council voted unanimously last week to authorize the issuance of up to $80 million in tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds to finance an affordable apartment complex in the Otay Ranch area.
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The council’s action clears the way for the Otay Ranch II project, a 270-unit development planned for Village 8 East, near state Route 125 and adjacent to Olympian High School.
The California Municipal Finance Authority, a joint powers authority of which Chula Vista is a member, will serve as bond issuer. Private lender Citibank will fund the project, which will be developed by Meta Housing Corp. The bonds will be repaid from the project’s rental revenue. The city carries no financial obligation.
Of the 270 units, 267 will be reserved for income-qualified households earning between 30% and 70% of the area median income. A city staff member told the council that the San Diego area’s current median income for a family of four is $130,900, putting eligible households in a range of roughly $52,000 to $90,000 annually. Three units will be set aside for on-site property managers.
Staff told the council the state has designated the project’s neighborhood a “high resource” area based on school quality and proximity to jobs and amenities — factors that make it a particularly suitable location for affordable housing.
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The project is expected to break ground in summer 2026 and be completed in 2028.
Councilmember Jose Preciado spoke at length in favor of the financing structure, arguing it is essential to producing housing the private market would not otherwise deliver.
“I would argue that if we did not incentivize the investment community to produce these, they would not be built,” Preciado said.
Councilmember Michael Inzunza, whose district includes the site, offered personal remarks in support, drawing on his own experience growing up in Section 8 housing.
“This is an intentional effort to give lower-income residents the opportunity to live in the same middle-class community that I’m now fortunate to live in,” he said.
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