Townspeople has quadrupled the number of affordable housing units it offers people living with HIV/AIDS when it recently closed escrow on a new apartment complex located in City Heights.

“This three-building, two-story complex consists of 24 studio apartments with parking and laundry facilities,” said Jon P. Derryberry, executive director of the non-profit, which provides affordable housing and informational services to people with HIV/AIDS in San Diego. “In addition, residents will have convenient access to public transportation one-half block away.”

The 24 new units, named the 51st Street Apartments after its location, bring the total number of affordable housing units owned by Townspeople to 32. Townspeople acquired their first eight affordable housing units, located on Wilson Avenue in City Heights, in 1994.

There are 89 other permanent affordable housing units for people with HIV/AIDS in the San Diego metropolitan area, owned by various organizations. Even with the 32 Townspeople units added to the list, Derryberry said that number is insufficient to service the needs of the local HIV/AIDS community.

“When you look at San Diego, the need is there … simply because we’re looking at a number of around 3,000 people that can use this service. At any one time, when the surveys are done on homelessness, the numbers show anywhere between 400 and 500 are homeless who have HIV/AIDS,” he said.

Townspeople is using that number to establish their mission. “Our goal over the next 10 years or sooner is to provide 500 affordable, permanent supportive housing units for people with HIV/AIDS in San Diego,” Derryberry said.

Derryberry began searching for affordable housing options when he joined Townspeople in December. Since then, he has looked at more than 60 potential properties. The 51st Street Apartments were chosen for their proximity to public transportation, community services and medical facilities.

Each of the 24 units is a 300 square-foot studio apartment, and the apartments are divided into three buildings. Derryberry said rent for each unit is going to be below $500 per month.

“They’ll be at 30 to 45 percent of the average monthly income,” Derryberry explained. “That’s a requirement of ‘affordability.’ For the funds that we receive, we must offer deeply affordable units.” Regular rent for similar units in the area ranges from $550 to $750, he added.

The 51st Street Apartments is not the only property that Townspeople is working on. In the next several months, Derryberry expects to add 22 more units. He could not go into details on that property until the sale has been completed, he said.

While private donations are always welcome, Derryberry said, Townspeople is funding the projects with long-term loans from the government.

“We’re doing the [51st Street Apartments] utilizing funding from San Diego Housing Commission and from the state of California Supportive Housing Program,” he said. “It’s 100-percent financed by the two agencies.”

The process of acquiring the buildings is not a simple procedure, he explained. Cutting through the government’s red tape as well as coordinating the loans with the brokers, the bank and the buyer can be time-consuming and difficult.

“There is a lot of paperwork involved, that’s for sure,” Derryberry said. “The application for the state is in an eight-inch binder, and that was just for half the funding. The Housing Commission binder is three or four inches [thick]. It’s the necessary part of using public funds.”

Yet Townspeople is spending the money wisely, according to Derryberry’s calculations. The 51st Street Apartments were bought at a reasonable price in a tumultuous real estate market.

“This is 24 units, and we got it for approximately $1.5 million. Divide the 24 units into that and you get about $62,000 per unit. I looked for that,” Derryberry said, and added that was a good deal compared to the $130,000-per-door average at the time. “In a market that was very, very hot at the time, that was a long sought-after property cost per door.”

The renovation process, set to begin by the end of the year, will take approximately three months to complete. To apply for housing at 51st Street Apartments, visit the Townspeople office at 3965 Park Blvd., Suite B, in Hillcrest. To learn more about Townspeople, including about volunteer opportunities, call (619) 295-8802 or log on to www.townspeople.org.