Chinatown affordable housing project inches closer.

Salinas could soon be a step closer to seeing an affordable housing complex in its blighted Chinatown.

On April 22, the City Council will vote on an agreement that would set MidPen Housing on the path to developing 90 affordable housing units on two pieces of property currently owned by the city.

Approving the exclusive negotiating rights agreement would give MidPen up to two years to finalize its project plans, according to Jennifer Coile, a development consultant with Salinas. If everything works out within that time frame, the city will sell its property to MidPen and development can begin.

MidPen is a nonprofit affordable housing developer that has built more than 7,000 homes for low-income and special-needs residents across Northern California. A recent local project is the 66-unit affordable housing complex on the new East Garrison subdivision.

MidPen has been eying Chinatown for affordable housing since 2012. In April 2013, the company unveiled plans for up to 90 two-person units and 14,000 feet of commercial space, which could be used to house nonprofits and service providers.

Though the housing units may start out serving Chinatown’s homeless population, MidPen Real Estate Development Vice President Jan Lindenthal says it could evolve into affordable housing for the city’s low-income workers.

“All you have to do is walk out there and you see a situation that isn’t right,” Lindenthal says. “It needs to be better for everyone, for the people who are there, the businesses, and the city of Salinas.”