Housing Department Explains Resident Application, Selection Process for Heritage Square South Senior Housing Project

The Heritage Square South Project, which will provide affordable housing units for seniors at 710-738 N. Fair Oaks Ave. and 19-25 E. Orange Grove Blvd, is now under construction.

The building will have 69 one bedroom units of permanent supportive housing plus one unit for the resident manager. It has 7,500 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

It is projected to open in 2024, according to Homeless Programs Coordinator Jennifer O’Reilly-Jones.

Permanent supportive housing is a housing intervention that is meant for people who are exiting chronic homelessness and have high needs.

It provides an ongoing rental subsidy to be administered by the Housing Department and wraparound supportive services. Residents in the program are linked to other community based services.

During the meeting of the Northwest Commission on Dec. 13, O’Reilly-Jones explained the resident application and selection process for the Heritage Square South project.

According to O’Reilly-Jones, seniors aged 55 and older are eligible for the housing program. They are required to be extremely low income, earning less than 30 percent of Area Median Income, and must be considered chronically homeless.

Residents qualified to benefit from the program must live in Pasadena. Those who fall into homelessness in Pasadena but are currently residing elsewhere are also eligible.

All referrals will be made through the Pasadena Coordinated Entry System (CES), a network of local homeless service providers. There will be no opportunity for applicants to apply directly.

According to O’Reilly-Jones, CES will provide referrals to the property manager of people who meet the criteria. There is no wait list and referrals will be prioritized based on CES Prioritization Policies.

Once individuals are referred, they will have the opportunity to apply directly to BRIDGE Housing, the building owner and it may provide additional criteria such as background check, credit score and rental history.

Applicants must also apply to the Housing Department for rental assistance.

Residents applying for rental assistance are required to have legal residency status.

Registered sex offenders and those who have been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in federally funded housing are not qualified, according to O’Reilly-Jones.

The Heritage Square South Project involves the demolition of Church’s Chicken located at the site. A total of 37 surface parking spaces are proposed at the north end of the project site.