A former church property in Imperial Beach is becoming 50 affordable apartments for older adults, with half reserved for seniors moving out of homelessness. Construction began Thursday on The Haven on Palm, a three-story development that places housing beside a new neighborhood center offering food assistance and other support services.
The $48 million project is rising on the former Imperial Beach United Methodist Church site. Wakeland Housing and Development is leading construction and will lease the units, according to the County of San Diego. The county put $6 million into the development and supplied 25 housing vouchers, matching the number of apartments set aside for people exiting homelessness. Public, private and community partners are funding the balance, but the county's announcement did not itemize their shares.
That mix matters at the front door. A completed building does not become accessible merely because its rents are restricted; prospective tenants still need to know the income limits, application window, screening rules and way the vouchers will be assigned. None of those leasing details appeared in Thursday's release. Wakeland expects the building to be finished in early 2028, leaving time for the developer and county to publish a clear path from an interested resident's first inquiry to a signed lease.
For the 25 residents coming from homelessness, the adjacent Imperial Beach Neighborhood Center could shorten the distance between a home and basic help. The county said the center provides food assistance and other support, though it did not identify which services will be dedicated to Haven residents. Proximity can remove a transportation barrier, especially for an older adult, but it does not establish the staffing level, eligibility or hours that will be available when the apartments open.
The development is small beside the countywide housing shortage and substantial on a single Imperial Beach block. Fifty homes mean 50 households will no longer compete for the same market-rate units once the building is occupied. They also mean construction activity and a new three-story form on a site that previously served a congregation. The county release did not provide a site plan, parking count or unit-size breakdown, so the physical effect on the surrounding block cannot yet be measured from the announcement alone.
County officials placed the project within a larger funding record. Since 2017, the county says it has invested more than $330 million in affordable housing, including loans through its Innovative Housing Trust Fund. Those investments have produced more than 3,900 homes, with nearly 2,200 additional units in development. The figures describe a pipeline rather than current vacancies: homes under construction do not relieve a household's rent burden until they are completed, leased and kept affordable under enforceable terms.
The Haven on Palm now has two clocks. Contractors have roughly a year and a half to carry the project toward the early-2028 completion target, while future tenants need enough notice to assemble documents and understand whether they qualify. Regular construction updates can track cost, schedule and financing. A separate leasing timeline can explain who receives the 25 vouchers and how the other 25 apartments will be offered.
Thursday's groundbreaking fixed the public commitments that can be monitored: 50 senior homes, 25 reserved for people leaving homelessness, $6 million and 25 vouchers from the county, and an early-2028 delivery target. The next meaningful milestone for an older resident will be less ceremonial. It will be the date an application opens and the instructions make sense on the first reading.