Affordable housing development at Greater Victory Temple in Seaside poised to break ground.

For Pastor Ronald Britt of Seaside’s Greater Victory Temple Church of God in Christ, the 21-unit, 100-percent affordable housing development to be built on the church’s campus is a blessing from god – not only for the church but for the working-class residents who will one day inhabit it.

“When I became the pastor of the church, the lord spoke to me and said, ‘Financially stabilize the church,’” Britt says. “And this is the way we will be able to do it.”

President of the development firm KB Bakewell, Danny Bakewell Jr., worked with the church to develop the affordable apartment building known as Greater Victory Temple Apartments, set to break ground on Saturday, May 16. Bakewell says the project came about through “a perfect storm” of events, where the church wanted to develop housing on its property (following a state law enacted in 2024 that streamlines the development of housing on church property) and Bakewell needed to build off-site affordable units required as part of the Campus Town development.

“It’s been a long process and I am so excited for the groundbreaking,” Britt says. “Working with Danny, KB Bakewell and their staff has been so rewarding. They’re not here to just build, take money and go. They care about this community.”

The three-story, approximately 42-foot-tall building will have a mix of six studios, nine one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments, all of which will be deed-restricted affordable units set aside for those considered to be very low-income by state guidelines, which equates to a family of four earning 30 to 50 percent of the area median income, which in Monterey County is $104,500.

The very-low-income units partially satisfy KB Bakewell’s obligation to provide 180 affordable units both on and off the Campus Town property and will be the first housing units built as part of the larger project, albeit off-site.

“That’s exciting to be able to deliver the first units as affordable,” says Bakewell. “Affordable housing is critical, not only here in Seaside but across the state.”

Bakewell says they tentatively hope to complete construction by the spring of 2027. They are not yet taking applications for potential residents, and plan to advertise when that process begins. Although Bakewell says he would like to favor Seaside residents, he stresses that anyone will be able to apply to live in the building; Britt points out that one doesn’t have to be a churchgoer to apply.

“We are going to work to find every possible advantage that we can give to people who live in Seaside, who work in Seaside and our essential workers,” Bakewell says. “This is 21 units. We’re not going to solve the housing crisis, but at least we can take a swing at it.”

A groundbreaking ceremony at 10am on Saturday, May 16 coincides with Greater Victory Temple’s 83rd anniversary where community members can enjoy hamburgers and hot dogs as they hear from a slate of pastors and elected officials.