Soledad Unified School District approves a workforce housing project Wednesday

SOLEDAD, Calif. (KION-TV) -- A new workforce housing project proposed by the Soledad Unified School District has been approved by city council Wednesday night.

The proposal will offer a 20-unit complex to house employees of the school district and is an effort to aid district employees during California's housing crisis. It aims to improve employee retention within the school district, according to the proposal.

"I have a niece that's an English teacher at Main Street Middle School," said Mayor Anna Velazquez. "She left Soledad for a bit because she couldn't find anything here. It's the same for many of our school district or employees because they can't find housing."

The complex will be built at 500 Monterey Street in Soledad and according to a city report, will feature a lounge area, library and bike storage facility.

A portion of the funds approved by voters of Measure N from 2020 would fund the project.

The city has not released a timeline for ground breaking and they say there's some red tape that needs to be crossed before a timeline can be announced.