Ribbon cutting at the Orchard View Gardens development at St. Joseph’s, Buena Park. Photo by Bob Williams
The March 12 opening of Orchard View Gardens, the affordable 66-unit senior housing complex at St. Joseph’s, Buena Park, marked the culmination of over a decade of work towards developing affordable housing on St. Joseph’s property. The completion of the project is also another major milestone in the diocesan mission to create affordable housing on underutilized church land throughout the diocese.
“The person of faith looks at the world as it is and imagines the realm of God,” said Bishop John Harvey Taylor at the event. He thanked all who those who made the
Bishop John Harvey Taylor speaks at the opening of Orchard View Gardens March 12. Photo by Mostyn Trudinger-Smith
dream of affordable housing at St. Joseph’s a reality. “Whenever church people look at empty property, whenever they take stock of available energy and financial resource and they apply those things to caring for those most in need, including by giving them a place to lay their heads at night, God takes delight.”
In addition to Taylor, speakers at the opening included Alexa Washburn, chief development officer at CORE, Doug Chaffee, chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and District 4 supervisor, Joyce Ahn, mayor of Buena Park, the Rev. Cindy Voien, rector of St. Joseph’s, the Rev. Michael Bell, director of housing and business development at Episcopal Community Services (ECS) Alyssa Cotter, executive director of the Hope through Housing Foundation, and others from supporting organizations and government bodies. All members of the Buena Park city council were present and honored at the event.
Voien said that St. Joseph’s land has been reserved for holy purposes since 1957, and with opening of Orchard View Gardens, “a holy purpose has been found, a holy dream upheld, and we rejoice that the day of fulfillment has come.” Now that land serves as 66 affordable apartments to seniors earning less than 60% of the area’s median income, 12 of which are reserved as supportive housing for seniors who have experienced homelessness.
The Rev. Cindy Voien speaks at the opening. Photo by Mostyn Trudinger-Smith
“When people become disconnected or displaced or even homeless, because housing costs too much, we become a fragmented, damaged community, and we stand in need of reconciliation,” Voien said. “To house people who are getting edged out of the general housing market is to embrace what we have in common and to bless the entire community.”
Orchard View Gardens was developed by National CORE as the second affordable housing development created in a collaboration between National CORE and The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. The development was additionally supported by ECS and the Hope through Housing Foundation, which will provide support and services to residents of the apartments.
In Orange county, one quarter of the homeless population is age 55 or older, said Washburn. Tragically, that percentage continues to rise. “But when we align our efforts around a shared goal, one that’s rooted in compassion, dignity and care for our vulnerable neighbors, incredible things happen,” she said. “This community will provide seniors with a stable, affordable home, a place where they can feel safe, secure and supported.”
The development also serves as a step towards the diocesan goal to create affordable housing developments on at least 25 percent of the diocese’s 128 church campuses, set by Taylor.
“Thanks to the welcoming spirit of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, the visionary work of National CORE and the indispensable support of our partners at Episcopal Communities & Services, a whole new community of our neighbors will have a place to lay their heads for years to come,” Taylor said.
The development was funded through the Low-income housing tax credit, the City of Buena Park, Orange County Community Services, Special Needs Housing Program, and Orange County Housing Finance Trust.
Alexa Washburn speaks at the event. Photo by Mostyn Trudinger-Smith
Voein said that it was only through the cooperation and of many organizations and entities that this good work is possible. It took “a lot of people working in their own capacity and in jobs God called them to work to get this done,” Voien said.
The Rev. Michael Bell, director of housing and business development at ECS, helps congregations in the diocese in discerning whether affordable housing the right step forward for their congregation, and helps congregations to move through the process.
Bell shared the story of his own father, who after a successful career, faced homelessness late in his life, before discovering an affordable housing development for seniors.
“I have to imagine he, in spirit, it’s really pleased with what we all, you all, have accomplished here, because it will have an impact on people like him and families like ours that we will never meet,” Bell said.
The Rev. Michael Bell speaks at the event. Photo by Mostyn Trudinger-Smith
Bell said that the completion of the Buena Park development will give hope to other congregations considering the long and daunting journey to developing affordable housing.
“If we can get through the anxiety of scarcity and get into the potential of a dream and hear from each other how it’s possible, we can do this again in other places,” Bell said.
The development has been in the works for over a decade, and the dream of affordable housing at St. Jospeh’s has been around much longer. Exploration of developing through National CORE began in 2016, before Voien’s time as rector at Buena Park, under former rector the Rev. Canon Mary Trainor. The initial idea of an affordable housing project on the land began before Trainor’s time as well, when now Bishop Ed Little was rector.
“The people of St Joseph looked at the real estate and imagined how it might be used for the glory God,” Taylor said. Trainor and Voein, along with hosts of lay-leaders have “tended the vision like a precious seed.”
It has been a long process, with plenty of ups and downs but Voien said it has “never been on the back burner” for St. Joseph’s congregants. Through the long planning, approval, and funding stages, the congregation has maintained its excitement for the project. Now, at it’s completion and opening Voien said she was filled with joy.
Orchard View Gardens. Photo by Bob Williams
There were discouraging times in the process, times when the project was narrowly passed over for funding, and development seemed far away, Voien said. When State of California funding did come, it was because a California budget surplus allowed for the promise of funding to several projects that had nearly been selected in prior rounds of funding.
“It was a very great blessing for us, and those blessings will come again,” Voien said. She said that to all churches currently exploring, or even just considering, affordable housing on their campuses, the best advice she could give would be to not get discouraged.
Orchard View Gardens and St. Joseph’s Church. Photo by Bob Williams
10 units in the development have already been moved into, with many more move-ins scheduled for this weekend. All units have move-ins scheduled, and soon the development will be filled by seniors, otherwise at risk of being unable to afford housing in the area. In Orchard View Gardens, they’ll be near parks, grocery stores, and retail areas, with supportive services provided in their building, and a welcoming community at St. Joseph’s just across from their front door.