State loan will bring rent-restricted housing to Oceanside apartment complex

One of Oceanside’s oldest and largest apartment complexes, the 240-unit Sunterra on Sherbourne Drive, will see 75% of its apartments converted to rent-restricted affordable housing with a $105 million state loan approved Wednesday by the Oceanside City Council.

The apartments will be converted as tenants transition over time, said Salvador Roman, a senior management analyst for the city. The 25% of the complex not rent-restricted will be available to tenants whose income is not low enough to qualify for the restricted-income units.

There will be no mandatory relocation of tenants, said a spokesman for the Maple Housing Foundation, a nonprofit that will use the tax-free loan of bond proceeds from the California Municipal Finance Authority to rehab the apartments.

The Sunterra apartments at 3851 Sherbourne Drive opened in 1974 on a hilltop west of College Boulevard. Many of the current tenants have low incomes and stay there because the market-rate rents are relatively low for the area.

Apartments in the complex have two bedrooms and one or two bathrooms, and range from 890 to 924 square feet, according to online listings. Rents range from $2,299 to $3,544 per month, according to the website Apartments.com.

“This is one of the largest and most affordable complexes in the city,” said Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa. “I’m excited to see this come forward.”

The state financing carries no obligation or oversight responsibility for the city,...