Living Rooms Project
PRESS RELEASE December 12, 2018
Contact:Susana Villegas
svprcommunications@gmail.com
CasaFamiliar to Break Ground on Living Rooms at the Border a New Markets Tax Credit Project
San Diego, CA – Casa Familiar is pleased to announce the groundbreaking ceremony for Living Rooms at the Border at 9:00 a.m. on December 13th, at 114 West Hall Avenue, San Ysidro, CA 92173. Presenting at the ceremony are the Honorable Greg Cox, Supervisor of the County of San Diego, Dr. Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor of University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego), Carlos Vasquez, Vice Chair of Civic San Diego, and Mr. Kyle Walton of Classic Lake Consulting & Investments.
Living Rooms at the Border is a 13,469 square-foot mixed-use project in the historic heart of San Ysidro, a predominantly Latino community in the City of San Diego. This economic development project also contains 10 units of affordable housing and is less than one mile from the U.S.-Mexico Border and includes expansion space for Casa Familiar’s immigration services and the El K-Fe Barista Youth Training Program. The project also includes the restoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, built in 1927, and its transformation into the El Salon multi-media theatre performing space in partnership with Teatro Máscara Mágica.
“Casa Familiar has been serving the community of San Ysidro for 46 years,” said Lisa Cuestas, CEO of Casa Familiar. “We are proud to be able to execute an innovative model that is inclusive of small economies that support community needs and much needed housing through a design that embraces San Ysidro.”
Living Rooms at the Border was designed by architect Teddy Cruz (Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman), professor of public culture and urbanism at UC San Diego. In partnership with UC San Diego’s Center on Global Justice, Living Rooms will incorporate a UC San Diego Border Community Station. The Station will engage UC San Diego’s faculty, students, and research institutions with the unique culture, and people of the San Ysidro-Tijuana border community.
Living Rooms at the Border is made possible by New Markets Tax Credits allocated by Civic San Diego, grants from the PARC Foundation and ARTPLACE America, and the County of San Diego. Financing partners include Capital Impact Partner and Citi Community Capital.
Incorporated in 1973, Casa Familiar is a 501(c)(3) community-based organization that provides more than 30 direct services, including computer classes, afterschool programs, affordable and transitional housing, and cultural activities, to the residents of South San Diego County. For more information about Casa Familiar please visit www.casafamiliar.org.
-Pictures Below-
(Photos courtesy of Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman)
