It’s been over six years since Upward Bound House board member Booker Pearson approached Rev. Floyd McKeithen, then the pastor of Culver-Palms United Methodist Church, to ask if the church might consider building permanent affordable housing for families leaving UBH who are unable to find anything affordable locally.
In early August, the Jubilo Village project got the green light and final approval of needed funding from the the state of California, and is expected to break ground in January of 2025.
Tara Barauskas, the CEO of the Community Corp. of Santa Monica, was pleased to get the resources for their first project in Culver City. “We just found out last week that we were approved; the way that the state funds housing, we are in competition with other [affordable housing] projects, so there are a lot of factors involved in who gets the resources.”
Jubilo Village is a joint project for Community Corp. of Santa Monica and Culver-Palms United Methodist that will provide housing will be for households whose incomes range from extremely low income (30% of area median income), very low income (50% of AMI) to low income (80% of AMI). AMI is determine by the federal Housing and Urban Development Department, and is determined by the AMI for the county; in this case, LA County.
There will be one, two, and three bedroom units with two managers living onsite, supportive services, and the residents will be singles, couples, families, and people of all ages.
Mayor Yasmine Imani McMorrin offered “As we continue to look for more ways to increase affordable housing options across our city, I’m committed to continue to partner with community based organizations like the Culver-Palms United Methodist Church and others to ensure that Culver City families and those who want to live here have a home.”
Barauskas, who has more than 90 Community Corp. projects in the city of Santa Monica, said “We’ve been doing this for 42 years, so we do have a solid track record of success.”
Judith Martin-Straw