Housing for the Mentally Ill

Last week, a Santa Barbara apartment community, The Garden Center, opened to 38 new residents. The apartments were specifically designed to combat homelessness through housing and mental health care all at once.

1 minute read

December 19, 2008, 6:00 AM PST

By Judy Chang


"Designed by Jan Hochhauser of Santa Barbara's Hochhauser Blatter, the center happens to be directly across the street from the city's planning department, which ensured the project met Santa Barbara's rigid historical district design policies. It has the city's classic stucco and red-tile roofs but also features beautifully designed, light-filled living spaces that don't feel institutional.

'The idea is we're creating neighborhoods,' Hochhauser said. 'That you're not finding your way to your living space down some dismal corridor. That we've got these courtyard neighborhoods. Also there's the concept of defensible space in housing design, where there is a community space for access and circulation that provides protection and oversight. Also that the apartments get good sunlight, that they have some vegetation, that they're generally uplifting.'

The project took more than eight years to complete from concept to move-in day. There were more than 300 applicants for the 38 apartments set aside for those with mental illness. Applicants had to meet a certain income level and, in addition to having some kind of mental illness, had to show they could live independently. The work force apartments will rent for about 60 percent of market. All of the apartments for the mentally ill will be available through federal Section 8 funding."

Friday, December 12, 2008 in Miller-McCune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

3 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

4 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

5 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press