San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is urging the City Council to purchase two hotels to house the homeless.
The Residence Inn Hotel Circle and Residence Inn Kearny Mesa are the two properties on the table that—according to Faulconer and others—would make a huge difference in combating San Diego’s homelessness problem.
“These properties will pave the way for over 400 additional folks who have been stabilized through Operation Shelter to Home to get a place of their own,” said Faulconer. “We’re moving quickly, but we’ve also done the due diligence to bring these proposals forward and have these units ready by December.”
400 San Diegans in an apartment
400 San Diegans no longer homeless
400 San Diegans with support to stay stabilizedThat's 400 reasons for Council to vote YES tomorrow on the purchase of two hotels to transform into permanent housing units.
LEARN MORE: https://t.co/GrG2HVqLWC pic.twitter.com/TiuVviYqpa
— Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) October 12, 2020
Faulconer’s office has indicated that the two properties would require “minimal” work before they could start being used and that more than 29 properties were considered before the Housing Commission recommended the two Residence Inn locations.
“By converting these hotels into housing and continuing to navigate folks into other housing, our region will continue to lead the state on solutions to reduce homelessness,” Faulconer added. “I urge my colleagues on the City Council to keep this momentum going.”
The acquisition, which, as of now does not have a public price tag, would be paid for in part by a $37.7 million grant from the state’s Project Homekey. Project Homekey is a $600 million program that was created to help house homeless Californians during the ongoing pandemic.
The city receiving the $37.7 million grant is contingent on the money being spent by the end of the year. Housing Commission President Rick Gentry said he is confident that the hotels can be bought and retrofitted before the year ends.
