BUENA PARK, CA-The city council here has granted approval for a 70-unit affordable apartment complex to be developed by Irvine-based affordable housing specialist Jamboree Housing Corp. The new complex will be developed on the two-acre site of a long-vacant commercial building at 8850 La Palma Ave. that is owned by the City of Buena Park Redevelopment Agency and will be earmarked for tenants earning between 30% and 60% of the county's area median income.

The fenced development site, which has been vacant for more than five years, required a general plan Amendment and rezoning from commercial to residential, which the city council also approved. The apartments, which will consist of units ranging from one to three bedrooms and from approximately 616 square feet to 1,192 square feet, will be marketed primarily to the city's working families. Construction is expected to start next year and to be completed in 2012.

The building design utilizes a green roof over the 142-space interior parking area, creating more than 20,000 square feet of open space. Michael Massie, Jamboree's housing development manager, points out that the green roof "will provide the residents with outdoor opportunities that would not otherwise have been possible in a tightly constrained urban area." The green roof will help reduce the heat island that would otherwise be created by the surface parking facility and helps improve the environment by reducing and filtering storm water runoff and by cutting down on greenhouse gas from the site, Massie adds.

The new complex will feature a meeting room, a fitness center, a tutoring center, kitchen and laundry facilities and other amenities. Jamboree president Laura Archuleta notes in addition to affordable housing for the city's working families, the complex will provide services for residents with special needs. Jamboree's resident services group, Housing with Heart provides onsite resident services such as after-school tutoring, computer classes and health and fitness programs at little or no cost to the residents.