The city of San Diego has agreed to help a private developer build 156 affordable housing units in Barrio Logan, a primarily Latino community that has been trying to rebound since freeway and bridge construction separated it from Logan Heights in the 1960s.

The site for the proposed urban village is just south of Chicano Park, a central area for Chicano activism and artwork.

The developer, San Diego-based Urban Innovations, plans to build the $26 million project over a three-year period, beginning with two buildings with a total of 45 rental units near Logan Avenue and Evans Street. Logan Avenue was a commercial hub for Logan Heights before the community was splintered by Interstate 5 and the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. The section west of the freeway took on the name Barrio Logan.

Urban Innovations still has to get financing for the project, including a $6.2 million subsidy from the city's redevelopment program for affordable housing. Barrio Logan Properties, an investor group, owns the land where the housing is to be built.

City Councilman Ralph Inzunza Jr. said Barrio Logan needs the apartments to maintain its economic comeback. "This is part of the solution," he said.

The housing project would be the first since the 144-unit Mercado Apartments opened in 1994. Since then Crosby Street has been widened and renamed Cesar Chavez Parkway, after the famed farm labor leader. A shopping center will be built along that street.

Last year the San Diego City Council declared a housing state of emergency and voted to use redevelopment tax revenue to underwrite $55 million in bonds to help produce 2,185 new affordable housing units. That program hasn't yet funded any projects, but three proposals to build affordable housing for seniors are being reviewed.

Urban Innovations president Jim Hammett said he plans to submit the Barrio Logan housing proposal for subsidy consideration next week. Hammett was the development manager for the Market Creek Plaza redevelopment project in southeastern San Diego, and his company is building 16 homes along Highland Avenue in National City.

Hammett said Barrio Logan has become a desirable location for new housing because of its proximity to downtown, freeways and public transportation.

Most of the apartments will be rented to families that earn 60 percent of the San Diego region's median income, based on a federal housing formula. That's about $36,000 for a family of four, Hammett said. About 10 percent will be rented to families that earn 50 percent of the area's median income, he said.

Hammett expects rents to be comparable to what many in the neighborhood are paying now.

Rents for a one-bedroom apartment would range from $573 to $694; two-bedroom, $640 to $776, and three-bedroom, $708 to $859, said Benjamin Hueso, the city's manager for the Barrio Logan Redevelopment Project Area.

The Environmental Health Coalition, a neighborhood group, said it supports Hammett's project but wants to see the income limits lowered. Many families won't be able to afford to rent in the proposed housing, the group said.

The group also expressed concern about building so close to the Interstate 5 freeway because of pollution from cars.

Rachael Ortiz, chairwoman of the Barrio Logan Redevelopment Project Area Committee, said many families in the area are already paying high rents for apartments that are in bad shape and would welcome the opportunity to move into new housing.

"Not all our people are beggars or have a welfare mentality," Ortiz said. "There's people who would be proud to pay their due to live in a nice place and stay in their community."

Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Company. Used by Permission