Jimmy Silverwood is president of Affirmed Housing, a leading provider of affordable housing throughout California.
Affordable Housing Finance recently asked Silverwood to share a development that changed his life.
Name of development:
The Orchard at Hilltop
Location:
San Diego
Describe the development:
The Orchard at Hilltop is a new-construction, mixed-use, transit-oriented development located in the city of San Diego’s Chollas View neighborhood. The development includes 113 affordable apartment homes for lower-income residents and approximately 8,000 square feet of commercial space. Homes range from studios to three-bedroom apartments and are spread throughout two four-story buildings and one three-story building. Each one contains its own elevator and laundry rooms.
A separate single-level building features a community room with outdoor amenities, including an adjacent swimming pool, a recreational lawn, a basketball half-court, and a tot lot. A mix of surface and tuck-under parking is available throughout the complex, including several spaces designated for electric vehicle charging, motorcycle and commercial uses, and secured bicycle parking in one of the residential buildings. A trolley transit station is just half a mile away. Additionally, The Orchard at Hilltop residents have access to services that are customized to meet the needs of the multigenerational community.
Role in the project:
The Orchard at Hilltop is situated across multiple parcels that total 9.5 acres of land, and it paved the way for new market-rate and affordable home construction to benefit San Diego residents at all income levels. The affordable development is located on the eastern half of the site, and the western side, separated by an arroyo that runs down the middle of the property, features for-sale single-family homes, townhomes, and condos. As lead developer, Affirmed Housing was responsible for entitling, financing, and building the overall project. To activate the land, we led the mapping charge, combining and cleaning up what were originally a dozen different parcels on 9 acres and dividing them into three separate parcels to accommodate the affordable and market-rate developments and a renewed stormwater feature. The overall process involved negotiations with state and federal environmental agencies to uncover creative solutions for bringing housing and economic development opportunities to the community while also protecting the existing natural resources. We retained a local home builder to oversee the building and financing of the market-rate homes, which have all been sold. We also engaged with the community, applying member feedback to help ensure the design of The Orchard at Hilltop serves as a valuable resource in the long term.
Share why this development is meaningful to you:
The Orchard at Hilltop enriches the community with mixed-income housing resources, a hospitality venue that’s destined to become a local landmark, and a renewed stormwater channel that creates a natural wildlife habitat amid the busy urban context. It’s a beautiful, impactful development that included every challenge imaginable. Because it closely resembles a master-planned community, it involved many tasks that are associated with large tract home builders, such as easements throughout the site to tie in the sewer, water, and other systems to adjacent neighborhoods; connection and buildout of a road that was previously a dead end; purchase of the adjacent flag lots; regional water quality permits; as well as an Army Corps permit associated with the water channel that bisects the eastern and western halves of the site. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has been able to accomplish and overcome with this particular development.
Lesson learned from this development:
There is always a way. We faced so many challenges throughout this project, but there was always a path forward, and we just had to be patient and find it. We had to thread a very thin needle on the design and financing to keep all of the project’s stakeholders happy, including members of the community, planning department, elected officials, and others. In the end, we were able to execute on our vision and successfully achieve the results and outcomes we were targeting. However, if we didn’t prioritize the project’s financing when we created the site plan—and if we hadn’t remained flexible through program related shifts and changes—then we likely would still be trying to finance the deal.
How has this development influenced your work?
Orchard was one of my first developments that involved significant public outreach, which helped shape my view and approach on projects that have followed. While the ultimate goal is to make everyone happy (future residents, the community, elected officials, planning department, etc.), it’s critical to ensure that you’re not sacrificing the overall viability of the development during the public outreach process. You can have a vision for a project, but if you don’t have a feasible plan to execute and finance that vision, then the mission can’t be achieved. Our mission focuses on housing families, veterans, seniors, and formerly unhoused Californians—our most vulnerable citizens who deserve to live in a safe, healthy environment that they can be proud to call home. There is always a way!
"The Development That Changed My Life" is a new series by Affordable Housing Finance. If you would like to take part and share a project that has been especially meaningful to you, contact Donna Kimura at [email protected].
