# Father Joe's Villages Starts 124-Unit Mass Timber Project at 16th and Island

> Father Joe's Villages broke ground on a $47 million, 124-unit affordable housing project in San Diego, cutting per-unit costs to $380,000.

- Published: 2026-10-30T00:29:30+00:00
- Section: Expansion
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-30/father-joes-villages-mass-timber-groundbreaking
- Source: [Fox5sandiego](https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/fathers-joes-mass-timber-housing/)

## Key takeaways

- Father Joe's Villages broke ground on a 124-unit affordable housing project at 16th and Island in San Diego.
- The $47 million project costs $380,000 per unit instead of $530,000 with traditional methods, Deacon Jim Vargas said.
- Studio apartments will rent for about $800 a month and one-bedroom units about $1,000.
- Father Joe's Villages aims to build 2,000 additional affordable apartments and hopes to use prefabricated mass timber for future projects.

Father Joe's Villages broke ground on a 124-unit affordable housing project at 16th and Island in San Diego, a $47 million development built with prefabricated mass timber. [Fox5sandiego](https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/fathers-joes-mass-timber-housing/) reported the groundbreaking on October 30, 2026.

## Father Joe's Villages' 124-Unit Mass Timber Build

Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of [Father Joe's Villages](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0004d5q/father-joe-s-villages), said the building is expected to be constructed in 17 months. "Today we have a groundbreaking at 16th and Island here," Vargas said. "It's a nice piece of land that you can see. And in 17 months, God willing, we will have a building constructed with 124 affordable units."

The project uses mass timber for floors, walls, ceilings and support beams, prefabricated by Oakland-based [oWow](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0008csl/owow) to match the exact size and shape of each component. Vargas said it is the first time Father Joe's Villages has used the method and the first time it has been used in San Diego for affordable housing construction.

Jodi Rothery of Father Joe's Villages said the approach reduced construction time by 30 percent. "Really this has allowed us to not only design a project with more units, but reduce the time of construction by 30 percent and due to the nature of the materials, bring down the overall costs," Rothery said. Vargas said the cost is $380,000 per unit instead of $530,000 with traditional methods.

The completed building will offer studio and one-bedroom apartments, with studios renting for about $800 a month and one-bedrooms about $1,000. Father Joe's Villages has a goal of building 2,000 additional affordable apartments. "We're on the cutting edge of this and we don't shy away from challenges and we had to take a risk to make this project work," Rothery said. "I think it's really going to pay off and this is something we hope to use for future projects."

## Father Joe's Villages' State Housing Funding

According to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Father Joe's Villages received $14 million in state funding in July 2025 through the San Diego Foundation and SANDAG to support 10 affordable housing projects creating 966 units across San Diego County between 2026 and 2030. The organization, a San Diego nonprofit founded in 1950, provides emergency and permanent housing, meals, healthcare, childcare and employment services, funded through donations and a thrift retail operation.

## Day Center, Donation and Downtown Units

Father Joe's Villages opened a new day center in East Village on October 1, 2026, after the city withdrew funding from the former Neil Good Day Center, Yahoo reported. The center serves up to 200 people daily and cost over $120,000 to renovate.

In September 2026, Irwin Jacobs pledged $50 million to Father Joe's Villages for new senior housing, the largest single donation in the organization's history, Fox5sandiego reported. The donation will create over 500 apartments, with at least 150 for older adults. Earlier that month, the organization opened 33 single-room occupancy units in Downtown San Diego, with each tenant paying $842 monthly.

## What Comes Next for the 16th and Island Project

Vargas said the 16th and Island building is expected to be constructed in 17 months. Father Joe's Villages said it hopes to use prefabricated mass timber for future projects toward its goal of 2,000 additional affordable apartments.

## Companies in this story

- [Father Joe's Villages company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0004d5q/father-joe-s-villages) · website: https://my.neighbor.org
- [oWow company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0008csl/owow) · website: https://owow.com

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