Housing Watch: New affordable housing complex coming to Porterville

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- A planned complex in Porterville will serve the city's most vulnerable population.

Completion of the 80-unit Finca Serena apartment complex can't happen soon enough.

Rising rents and soaring home prices have left many families struggling to find affordable housing.

Porterville Mayor Monte Reyes said, "People that are looking to rent around here are looking at housing that's really not going to break the bank. They're concerned about having money for healthcare issues as well as groceries."

A complex like Finca Serena was badly needed in Porterville, where 27% of the families live in poverty. The poverty rate in all of Tulare County was roughly the same.

Half of the 80 units would be used to house the homeless while the other half would be available to the general public.

Reyes said, "Sometimes you don't realize that when the economy takes a turn or you lose a job, that sometimes you need to regroup. This will, in most cases, will allow people to maintain their dignity, especially families."

One of the companies developing the project - UPholdings - also worked on an affordable housing complex in Clovis which welcomed families in June.

UPholdings Co-Founder Jessica Hoff-Berzac said, "Our goal is to provide people with access to services to create health and wellness, educational and professional growth."

The supportive services will be designed to help residents who have been struggling find financial stability.

Self-Help Enterprises CEO Tom Collishaw said, "We're helping people, creating opportunities for them to improve their lives and making them part of it and that's what Finca Serena is gonna do."

The complex will offer families stability and a safe place to call home

Finca Serena was scheduled to be completed in about a year.

Applications, though, won't be accepted until the summer of 2022.