Greater than a 12 months after the Palo Alto Metropolis Council first floated the thought of constructing a shelter for unhoused people close to the Baylands, its imaginative and prescient is on the cusp of turning into actuality due to a $26.6-million grant.
Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced on Wednesday that Palo Alto’s proposed shelter shall be one in every of 35 initiatives to obtain funding within the newest spherical of Mission Homekey, a grant program administered by the Division of Housing and Group Growth that helps efforts to construct dwellings for the unhoused, whether or not by conversion of resorts or by development of recent developments.
Palo Alto’s venture is modeled after 100-unit modular growth that Mountain View had constructed on Leghorn Avenue, a venture that Newsom highlighted in 2021 as a “shining instance” of a neighborhood answer to the homeless disaster. Below the council’s current revisions, the event shall be a three-story construction with 88 dwellings, 64 for singles and {couples} and 24 for households. It might be constructed at 1237 San Antonio Highway, a web site previously occupied by the Los Altos Remedy Plant.
The power will include modular dwellings with photo voltaic panels on the roofs. It’s going to additionally embody places of work for case administration, a construction for communal area and eating amenities.
Whereas the council has persistently and enthusiastically supported the venture, its destiny remained unsure after Palo Alto was not included within the prior rounds of grant distribution. Regardless of the setback, metropolis officers continued to barter with LifeMoves, the nonprofit that may function the power, and Santa Clara County, which can assist cowl among the working prices.
The council reaffirmed its help for the event on Aug. 15, when it voted 6-1, with Greg Tanaka dissenting, to approve a “commonplace settlement” with the state for the grant funding. The settlement requires town to finish development of the shelter inside 12 months. Residents will keep within the transitional housing advanced for between 90 and 120 days and for not more than 180 day, in accordance with a report from town.
Mayor Pat Burt known as the award of the grant “an awesome growth and one which we anticipated and have been engaged on for over a 12 months now.”
“The town confirmed quite a lot of dedication and resourcefulness to establish a web site, overcome any impediments and take actions that we wanted to take to essentially validate that the location would work and to be ready,” Burt mentioned in an interview. “We’ve been in anticipation of this grant, we’ve been doing quite a lot of preparation work in order that we will transfer ahead as rapidly as attainable.”
The Baylands venture is a part of a constellation of initiatives that town is now pursuing to deal with its gaping scarcity of inexpensive housing. Burt pointed to the current proposal from the nonprofit developer Charities Housing to construct 129 flats concentrating on people with low incomes at 3001 El Camino Actual, former web site of Mike’s Bikes. Eden Housing is advancing its personal plan for 50 below-market-rate flats at 525 Charleston Highway, whereas Alta Housing is now finishing development of Wilton Court docket, which incorporates 59 flats for low-income residents and people with disabilities. These initiatives, Burt advised, will provide residents of the Baylands facility possible choices for everlasting housing.
“I’ve already had discussions with the Charities Housing people and so they’re getting launched to LifeMoves and beginning to discover how they could complement one another,” Burt mentioned.
Newsom introduced the newest spherical of awards in a Los Angeles press convention. He famous that Mission Homekey has already funded greater than 200 initiatives throughout the state, together with greater than 12,500 everlasting and interim dwellings for folks exiting homelessness because it was launched two years in the past. This system, he mentioned, “is altering lives throughout the state.”
“Homekey’s groundbreaking success is a mannequin for the nation, exhibiting that we will make actual progress on ending homelessness in months, not years,” Newsom mentioned in a press release.
The Palo Alto award is a part of a package deal of $694 million grants that Newsom introduced at present, funds that can create about 2,500 dwellings. Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, lauded the grant, and mentioned he seems ahead to “seeing a Homekey venture in each metropolis within the state.”
“Constructing on the success of the Mountain View Homekey venture, the Palo Alto shelter will present urgently wanted providers that can assist transition Palo Altans out of homelessness,” Berman mentioned in a press release. “Operated by LifeMoves, these shelters exemplify how native and state authorities, housing suppliers, nonprofits, and the group can efficiently work collectively to assist handle our homelessness disaster.”
Palo Alto council members additionally emphasised earlier this month the continued significance of constructing transitional housing. Council member Greer Stone pointed to the substantial variety of homeless people in Santa Clara County and town’s failure to construct any shelters. Council member Alison Cormack, who participated within the point-in-time depend of unhoused people earlier this 12 months, famous that the homeless inhabitants within the county went up by 3% this 12 months.
“I believe we’ve all proven our unwavering help for this venture and proceed to be supportive of it,” Stone mentioned on the Aug. 15 assembly.
Even earlier than the Wednesday quantity, LifeMoves has been working to finalize its agreements with town, to wrap up design work and to rent a development firm. Jo Value, vice chairman for actual property and operations for LifeMoves, mentioned the nonprofit has chosen XL Development, which had labored on the Mountain View shelter and on the 240-unit Navigation Heart in Redwood Metropolis, which is now below development.
Tanaka was the one council member to vote in opposition to approving the venture, citing the excessive prices of constructing and working a shelter. He objected to the truth that Palo Alto’s facility would value about $200,000 per door whereas the Mountain View growth value $130,000 per door. Value attributed the hole to the truth that Palo Alto’s facility consists of bigger models for households and that it might have extra restrooms.
“With it costing far more than it’s in our neighboring group, it doesn’t appear proper,” Tanaka mentioned. “I believe we should always reduce to have the identical value.”