A proposal to expand affordable senior housing in Santa Maria could soon bring dozens of new units to the city, as housing advocates and city officials say more older adults are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The proposed project would add 85 new housing units to the existing Vandenberg Senior Residence complex near Broadway and Stowell Road, helping expand housing options for seniors living on limited incomes.
Supporters say developments like this are becoming increasingly important as the number of older adults facing housing insecurity grows.
For Santa Maria resident Christopher King, having access to affordable housing has been life-changing.
“When this place became available, I jumped on it,” King said. “I’m telling you, it’s less than half of what I was paying over there.”
King, a veteran, now lives at Santa Maria Studios, an affordable apartment complex for seniors in Santa Maria. Before finding stable housing, he says he spent time at Good Samaritan Shelter after struggling with addiction and the high cost of living.
“When I got out of jail, you know, they hooked me right up with Good Samaritans down here with shelter,” King said.
After staying at the shelter for about a month, King says he was eventually able to move into stable housing. He says the difference has been significant.
“I live on a fixed income … and I have enough,” King said. “For this Christmas, I bought myself a Christmas present. I mean, now, that’s thriving.”
The property city leaders are now looking to expand has its own history in Santa Maria.
Archive photos shared by the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society Museum show the site once operated as the Vandenberg Inn, a 160-room hotel that opened in 1960. The hotel featured amenities such as a coffee shop, banquet space and a swimming pool and served travelers visiting the region.
Today, the property is used for senior housing, and city leaders say the proposed expansion could help meet growing demand.
Kirsten Cahoon, director of homeless services for Good Samaritan, says her organization has seen a noticeable increase in older adults seeking assistance in recent years.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase over the past several years of the aging population coming into all the homeless services in the county,” Cahoon said.
Cahoon said seniors who lose housing often face particularly difficult challenges when trying to regain stability, especially when living on a fixed income.
She explained that in previous years, some senior living communities were still affordable for people relying primarily on Social Security benefits. Today, she says that is becoming much less common.
“A few years ago, there were still some senior living communities that were affordable within Social Security, where they were only paying about 60 to 70 percent of their income in rent,” Cahoon said. “Now it’s more like 90 percent of their income.”
According to Cahoon, when housing costs consume most of a person’s income, seniors are often forced to make difficult choices between paying rent and covering other essential expenses such as food, medications or transportation.
City officials say the proposed expansion is intended to help address that affordability challenge.
Frank Albro, principal planner for the City of Santa Maria, said senior housing is already one of the most in-demand housing types in the city.
“Affordability is another housing type category that we encourage and we do need more of,” Albro said. “So this project will also help to serve that affordability need.”
The proposal would add 85 units to the Vandenberg Senior Residence complex through a combination of new construction and interior modifications to existing structures.
Albro said the project is specifically designed to serve older adults living on limited incomes.
“The applicant is restricting the units once they’re constructed to tenants that are 55 years or older,” Albro said, “and they are agreeing to keep the rental costs affordable to lower-income residents.”
He said eligibility would be limited to households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, helping ensure the housing remains accessible to seniors who may otherwise struggle to find affordable options.
City officials say the project has already received conceptual approval from the Santa Maria Planning Commission. The next step will be for the applicant to submit building permits. If those permits are approved, construction could begin after the site is prepared.
Housing advocates say projects like this could play an important role in helping older adults remain stable and housed as the cost of living continues to rise. For residents like King, having a place he can afford has already made that difference.
