San Diego breaks ground on its first mass timber affordable housing, at $380,000 a unit instead of $530,000

Arete Development is handling the project for the nonprofit. Its CEO, Jodi Rothery, told KPBS the timber system shortened the schedule and lowered the cost per unit. Components are made off site, so factory and field work run in parallel and fewer people are needed to assemble the building, she said. She told ABC 10News that a job that normally takes 20 to 22 months can be built in 15 to 16.

The savings come from more than the wood. Father Joe's credits the prefabricated timber system along with changes in how materials were bought and a leaner contracting setup for the drop of about 28%, the San Diego Reader reported. The unit count changed too. After financing for the original design fell apart in 2024, the slimmer timber structure freed room for 22 more apartments within the same eight floors, Times of San Diego reported, so the total cost is spread across more homes. oWOW Construction, the Oakland builder on its first San Diego job, said it helped save more than $10 million.

The building has 68 studios, 55 one-bedrooms and one two-bedroom for households earning 30% to 60% of area median income. At today's limits a studio would rent for $918 to $1,837 a month including utilities, KPBS reported. Financing includes a California Bank & Trust construction loan, a Citibank permanent loan, tax credit equity from Raymond James and gifts from Irwin Jacobs and the David C. Copley Foundation.

Father Joe's conservatively targets opening in March 2028, while oWOW says it could finish by the end of 2027. Arete is preparing permit applications for a second timber building at the former indoor skydiving center at 14th Street and Imperial Avenue.