VISTA

People passing a new four-story, gray building on Vista’s South Santa Fe Avenue in recent months likely thought they were passing an art gallery as they viewed paintings on walls and artists creating work on easels.

And they’d be right. Partly. Besides being a gallery, the new Paseo Artist Village also is home to artists, veterans and local residents, who all found affordable homes in a revitalized area of Vista.

Elected officials from the county and city of Vista were joined by community members and representatives from the nonprofit developer Community Housing Works last week to celebrate the opening of the artist village, which began accepting tenants in February. All 60 units are full, including one for a property manager and three for veterans, 52 for artists and four local Vista residents who qualified because of their low-income status. Of the 52 artists, 20 already were Vista residents.

Mary Jane Jagodzinski, senior vice president of housing and real estate development with Community Housing Works, recalled meeting with Vista Mayor Judy Ritter and city staff members in 2016 to discuss the project as part of the city’s new plan for downtown.

“I talked about the Left Bank of Paris, with the je ne sais quoi of creative energy, that crackle, where ideas are shared, where families live, dine, walk,” she said.

South Santa Fe Avenue still isn’t going to be confused with the Left Bank of Paris, but it does look significantly different than it did seven years ago. Paseo Artist Village is just past one of the ornate roundabouts on the road and is across the street from Found Lofts, a newly opened apartment complex that includes one unit for an artist in residence and features North County’s tallest mural.

Funding for the $33 million Paseo Artist Village included $8.6 million from the city of Vista, which also provided the land, and $1.5 million in annual federal tax credits. The property includes about 2,100 square feet of on-site artist workspace and art gallery, and passers-by who look through the front windows can see an exhibit by artist Jesus Montoya. The building includes an aluminum sculpture on the courtyard wall created by artist Matt Devine and a neon piece by Brooke Barttlebort on the window of the gallery, both commissioned by Community Housing Works.

City officials said artists living in the village will help spark Vista’s art and culture district, which already includes Kites Over Vista, a series of large metal pieces of art around Vista Village Drive and Main Street, and it answers a need for more affordable housing. Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment begins at $556, and top price for a three-bedroom is $1,367.

“I wish I had my day full of events like this, where we’re just opening affordable housing,” said county Supervisor Jim Desmond at the opening celebration. Desmond said he set a goal of seeing 500 new affordable units created when he was elected in 2018, and 376 have opened so far with an additional 225 planned.

“I really feel like this is what’s going to bring it forward,” he said. “There’s going to be art gallery shows down here, and there’s even talk about showing movies here in the courtyard. I think it’s going to make it more of a community location.”

Councilmember John Franklin, also at the celebration, said he expected the city to look to the artists living in the village for leadership as the art and culture district expands.

“We’ve invited the arts community into Vista, and we’re listening with open ears,” he said.