St. Michael’s
RIVERSIDE, CA
Goal: Serve as a model for addressing Riverside’s homeless population by creating additional affordable housing, maximizing the use of church-owned land, and fulfilling both the City’s public needs and the church’s commitment to service.
St. Michael’s offers a range of 50 one- and two- bedroom apartments, located in two adjoining buildings, seamlessly integrating the PSH units with all others. The apartments are connected to the on-site property management office, where adequate spaces for programming, designed in partnership with service providers to accommodate resident needs, are provided. These include private case management offices with space for individual and group meetings. In addition, the newly designed St. Michael’s site provides a variety of outdoor community spaces. The land for the building was leased from St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, located on-site.
The project helps fill the growing need for permanent housing opportunities, addressing Riverside’s homeless population. Of the fifty new affordable units, twenty-four are reserved for those experiencing homelessness. The community is also located nearby additional public, social, and health service providers and is well served by public transit—further connecting residents to the services and support designed to help them maintain stability and wellness in their lives.
Mercy House serves as the lead service provider at St. Michael’s, delivering high-quality supportive services aimed at helping residents maintain stable housing and achieve personal growth. Riverside University Health System contributes behavioral health services specifically for California’s No Place Like Home (NPLH) tenants. In addition, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church provides supplementary services.
DEVELOPMENT
Funding for St. Michael’s includes 4% LIHTCs and tax-exempt bonds. NPLH (No Place Like Home) Funds provide a permanent source of financing administered through the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development. Additionally, the City of Riverside awarded St. Michael’s a $2 million loan and the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside (HARC) awarded St Michael’s 24 Project-Based Section 8 Vouchers to house homeless and chronically homeless individuals.
DATA
- Completion Date: February 2023
- Total Development Cost: $19.7M
- Affordability: 30% - 80% AMI
- Total Units: 50
- Unit Mix: 58 0BD, 14 1BD
- Sustainability: LEED
TEAM
- Developer: CDP & Mercy House
- Contractor: Precision General Commercial Contractors, Inc.
- Architect: Escher GuneWardena
- Property Management: FPI Management
- Resident Services Partner: Mercy House
WEBSITE
PARTNERS
Supportive services at St. Michael’s are grounded in Housing First principles and include trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing techniques. These approaches help build trust and rapport with residents, addressing their identified needs. On-site service providers are regularly available and visible, minimizing barriers to access and reducing delays in connecting to support.
Mercy House
Mercy House was founded by Father Jerome T. Karcher with a vision to serve the local homeless and at-risk communities. Since beginning services in 1990, Mercy House has grown from a single transitional housing program to a complete system of care designed to span the spectrum of services. These range from outreach and homeless prevention programs to emergency shelters and permanent housing, which incorporates both Housing First projects serving chronically homeless populations and affordable housing serving very low to low-income populations. On an annual basis, Mercy House programs and services touch the lives of over 7,000 adults and children across Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and Kern Counties in California as well as Maricopa County, Arizona. Their growth over our 30-year tenure has been tied to clarity of vision and purpose, always bearing in mind the organization’s ultimate goal: to end the homelessness of all who enter their unique system of care.
Riverside County: Riverside University Health System – Behavioral Health (RUHS)
RUHS provides community-based services for adults and children with mental health and substance use challenges that are delivered in settings that are friendly, accessible and sensitive to different cultural and language needs. RUHS builds partnerships with individuals and families that promote a recovery-focused, person-first approach that helps each person reach his or her fullest potential. Each year, RUHS’s behavioral health services reach more than 50,000 people across Riverside County through their wellness, mental health and prevention programs.