Peninsula’s largest housing project is set to receive federal subsidies for the first time in years.

Seaside’s Del Monte Manor, the largest affordable housing project on the Monterey Peninsula, is back on the verge of receiving federal housing subsidies.

Just over a year ago, management told residents with the subsidies they would have to pay market-rate rent.

The threat was illegal. It came because the project hadn’t received any money for its 98 federally subsidized units since August 2012, the last month property management firm The John Stewart Company managed it. DMM’s board of directors fired John Stewart, and new property manager Dorene Matthews didn’t file the proper paperwork to keep getting the subsidies.

A legal standoff between the property’s board of directors and the feds ensued, culminating in a power coup that saw the election of several new board members, including a new president, last August. Just days later, Seaside police escorted Matthews off the property, and the new board members had the locks changed.

In the months since, the new board – along with attorney Richard Glenn, who served as the property’s interim executive director – worked to get the project back on track.

One of the key steps was hiring a qualified management firm experienced in working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. After sending out a requests for proposals, the new board re-hired John Stewart.

“Some people say they’re the best at what they do,” Glenn says. “Our board feels lucky we could take them back on board.”

The company got back to work at DMM in January and made its first subsidy filing with HUD early this month.

Resident Faye Coleman, who was fired from running DMM’s after-school program after she signed a petition calling for new management, has resumed her duties.

“It’s getting back to normal,” she says as kids play foosball nearby. “I really think things are going to work.”