Renovated Valencia Park Senior Housing Project Reopens

St. Stephens Retirement Center in Valenica Park has reopened with a new name and a new look following an $18 million renovation.

Renamed the George D. McKinney Retirement Center, the project continues the legacy of its founder, the late Bishop George D. McKinney, said his son, George A. McKinney, president and CEO of St. Stephens Retirement Center.
Bishop McKinney, who died in 1981, was a legendary figure in San Diego.

He founded St. Stephen’s Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Valencia Park, oversaw about 40 Church of God in Christ congregations in Southern California, and was a member of the church’s national board.

Building affordable housing “was a vision of my father that started back in 1973,” George McKinney said. “He saw a need for affordable housing for seniors.”

At the time, few affordable housing projects were being built.

“Being the pastor of a growing church he became intently aware that something needed to be done,” McKinney said.

Tremendous Feat

It took 21 years for Bishop McKinney with the 1994 construction of what was then the St. Stephens Retirement Center to fulfill his desire to provide affordable housing for seniors.

“We needed funding and there wasn’t government funding for that because the powers that be did not see the need in the black and brown communities at that particular time,” McKinney said. “It wasn’t until the (Rodney King) riots that the government did a 180 and decided to fund one of the few HUD (Housing and Urban Development) projects in the U.S. in the black community.”
 
Over time, the center had fallen into some disrepair due normal wear and tear.

“We had the same elevator, and the same equipment and the same flooring,” McKinney said.

The renovated center has 60 apartments in a mix of studios and one-bedroom apartments – 15 studio apartments of 435 square feet, 44 one-bedroom apartments of 543 square feet, and one two-bedroom manager’s apartment.

The apartments are available to low income seniors 62 and older.

The renovation “was a tremendous feat in our community,” McKinney said.

Expanding

“We have a commercial kitchen, new paint inside and out, we redid the kitchens in each apartment, redid the floors in each apartment, the windows. We basically rehabbed the apartments so the apartments are virtually new,” McKinney said. “This was a pleasant experience for the residents because they’re able to have virtually a new place and still pay the same rents that they enjoyed. That was part of the affordable housing piece.”

Rents vary according to income, but the average monthly rent is $423.

“We are able to get people housing who could not find housing at that price, at any price,” McKinney said.

In addition to the basics of providing shelter, McKinney said that with the new commercial kitchen, the renovated center will have a nutrition program targeting people with diabetes.

“Our diabetic community is about 70% or more of residents,” McKinney said. “We want to address this problem. We know it’s diet and exercise.”

The renovated George D. McKinney Retirement center at 5625 Imperial Ave. is adjacent to the Jean C. McKinney Manor, a retirement home named after Bishop McKinney’s late wife.

Built in 2005, the manor has 50 apartments for low income seniors.

McKinney said he hopes that the renovated retirement center will be the first of many similar projects that build on his father’s legacy, focusing on neighborhoods in and around Valencia Park.

“We are in the beginning stages of expansion. We do have a few locations but we want to keep that under our hat until we’re further down the road,” McKinney said.

 “My goal is to create affordable housing throughout San Diego County and maybe throughout California in underserved communities,” McKinney said, adding that the need for affordable housing has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.

“The pandemic basically disrupted small businesses,” McKinney said. “Small businesses are the biggest employers in our community. These employees are no longer able to pay their rent. They’re looking for things that are affordable in San Diego and they don’t exist.”

George D. McKinney Retirement Center, Inc.
Founded: 1979 (Originally St. Stephens Retirement Center Inc.)
CEO and President: George A. McKinney
Headquarters: Valencia Park
Business: affordable housing provider
Employees: 13
Website: www.ssrcsd.com
Contact: ssrcenters@gmail.com
Notable: the project won the Sage award for the best built design of the year in affordable housing. It  was originally one of the first 202 HUD grant awarded projects granted to an African American led organization in California.
Social impact: provides housing for low-income families and seniors.