A 136-Year-Old Black Church Is Building Senior Housing on Its Own Lot for About $260,000 a Unit

• Bethel AME Church in San Diego broke ground on Bethel One in Logan Heights
• The project has 25 one-bedroom homes for low-income seniors and veterans
• It is funded by about $1 million in donations plus loans, with no tax credits
• Each unit costs about $260,000, far below many publicly funded projects

Construction started in January 2024 on what KPBS described as San Diego’s first affordable housing project on church land to come out of the “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement. Bethel AME, a 136-year-old Black church, is building Bethel One in Logan Heights.

The church owned a lot of about 7,000 square feet on Imperial Avenue that had held an ageing duplex. Bethel One will have 25 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors and veterans, plus one unit for an on-site property manager.

The senior pastor, the Rev Harvey Vaughn III, first linked up with the YIGBY initiative, run by the nonprofit Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties, about five years earlier. He said churches should apply the Gospel to the city’s housing crisis. The project was held up during the pandemic when the cost of prefabrication rose, and it needed about $1 million in donations. Vaughn warned other churches that it is not a quick process and requires patience.

The funding model is unusual. Project consultant Evan Gerber said Bethel One relies on private donations and loans rather than government tax credits, which bring extra fees and soft costs. Together with a three-storey design, that kept the cost to about $260,000 per unit, compared with $750,000 or more for publicly funded projects in the city. A 2020 study by UC Berkeley’s Terner Center found 4,675 potentially developable acres owned by faith communities in San Diego County.

Many Jamaican churches hold small lots, old houses or unused corners of their property that are too small for a big developer but big enough for a handful of homes. Bethel One shows that a congregation can build modest, well-designed housing with donations and loans rather than waiting for public funding. For diaspora congregations and returnees looking to put money into something lasting, a small church-led rental block for seniors could be a practical way to serve both the church and the community.

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