Little-known San Diego financing program has created two dozen apartment complexes across the city

San Diego officials say they’re helping to solve the local housing crisis with a little-known “gap financing” program that has spurred nearly two dozen apartment complexes with more than 2,000 units across the city.

Launched four years ago, the program pools an array of funding sources from city, county, state and federal governments to help developers build projects that would otherwise not be financially feasible.

The results include 23 projects in nearly every corner of San Diego, from Rancho Bernardo in the north to San Ysidro in the south, and from Grantville in the east to Pacific Beach in the west.

While all the projects will include rent restrictions for low-income tenants, most will go beyond that to set aside units for military veterans, the formerly homeless or refugees.

Most of the complexes also include unusual amenities like on-site child care, smoking cessation classes, areas for on-site food cultivation, English classes, advice for job searches and help securing a high school diploma.

City officials have also begun making it a higher priority to locate the complexes in neighborhoods with strong resources like good jobs, recreational amenities, educational opportunities and access to transit.

Four of the 23 projects have already opened to residents and five more are under construction. And while the other 14 move toward anticipated groundbreakings, city officials want to add even more projects to the list.