Agency - Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation (CEDC)

CEDC's mission is "to develop and manage, through a community building approach, affordable housing for very low, low and moderate income families and individuals in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties."

Description:
Since 1981, CEDC has provided quality, affordable housing for thousands of working families in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. As a nonprofit organization, we continue to support the strengths of the individuals we work with by broadening their opportunities and revitalizing the communities in which they live. The success of CEDC is the result of decades of passion, dedication and vision. We believe that every person has a right to decent, safe and affordable housing - truly a cornerstone of any community's economic, environmental and social well-being. For the people who work with and for CEDC, this commitment comes from a deep, personal desire to make the world a better place to live. As housing costs continue to escalate, this calling is greater than ever before.

History:
CEDC has progressed from a grower-owned labor camp to a countywide housing and economic development corporation serving diverse socio-economic populations.
In 1975, farm worker families living in substandard housing conditions in Cabrillo Village (Saticoy, CA) received eviction notices from the labor camp's grower-owners. Resisting the razing of their homes, 80 farm worker families raised money to purchase the land, started the Cabrillo Improvement Association (CIA), and became the land's legal owners on Cinco de Mayo 1976.
Over the next five years, the CIA rehabbed 80 homes, developed two new housing complexes totaling 79 units, started three new business ventures to expand the neighborhood's economic base, and provided social services to farm worker families. In 1981, in a decision to expand past its original borders, a countywide community development corporation was formed that became CEDC.
Since these humble beginnings, CEDC has built over 850 units of affordable rental and for-sale housing, property manages 320 units across ten properties, and has packaged over $27 million in first mortgage loans serving over 200 families.

Contact people:

Kathryn Benner, Community Building Manager, (phone), (email) Priscila Cisneros, CBNR Manager, (phone), (email) Sylvia Rodriguez, Director CBNR, (phone), (email)

Address:

702 County Square Dr Ventura, CA 93003 (See a map)