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More funding to convert local motels to housing could be coming to Orange County under a recently approved statewide ballot measure – which one county supervisor says could be the key to ending homelessness for veterans in OC.
Billions of dollars are expected to fund conversions through an expanded version of Project Homekey – a state program for cities and counties to buy motels and turn them into homes for homeless people with onsite support like mental health and medical services.
State officials announced in August a new version of the program – dubbed Homekey + – with over $2.2 billion in funding through a recently passed $6.4 billion bond under Prop. 1.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said county officials will look to “aggressively pursue” some of that money for more motel conversions in OC and Homekey has been a win-win for improving the county’s quality of life.
“It helps to improve the quality of certain areas that had maybe degraded motels,” she said “And at the same time, provides apartment units for individuals who are either homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless, especially our veterans.”
Foley said her office already has eyes on six properties for the creation of 700 homes, but said it’s premature to say which ones.
“My office has identified six properties across Orange County that we think we can turn into Homekey deals, and we’ve actually brought the county staff together with the hotel broker to get everything we need set up so the moment that guidance becomes available, we can apply for the funding,” she said.
If they get the funding, Foley said the county will target housing veterans through Homekey.
“If we can pull together the properties that we’ve identified, we think that we can essentially end veterans’ homelessness in Orange County with this project,” she said.
Molly Nichelson, a spokeswoman with the county, also said officials were looking to Homekey+ funding for more motel conversions.
“Homekey funding is contributing toward the development of an additional 415 supportive housing units to address homelessness in Orange County,” she wrote in an email last week. “The County is in the process of exploring projects with any city that is interested.”
Cesar Covarrubias, executive director of the Kennedy Commission, said that Project Homekey plays a critical role in also creating homes for people with mental health issues.
“These are unique developments that are addressing a critical need in our community, yet they are very focused on a narrow population that is not the general population that also needs housing opportunities and is not getting that opportunity,” he said in a phone interview last week.
Covarrubias said the county should continue going after Homekey funding while also looking to create more affordable homes for low income families who are being impacted by the high cost of housing.
According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development website, state officials are expected to announce Homekey+ funding for local jurisdictions to apply for later this year and start handing out the money by summer 2025.
Does Prop. 1 Mean More Problematic Group Homes?
While Prop. 1 is slated to convert more motels into housing, some local officials worry the measure can also lead to more problematic sober living homes throughout the county – something OC Grand Jurors said neighborhoods already struggle with, especially along the coast.
[Read: Does Prop 1 Mean More Group Homes for Orange County?]
The concern led at least three OC cities to leave the California League of Cities – state’s largest municipal advocacy organization – over the group’s support for the proposition.
Critics also worried that the proposition lets state officials take a bigger chunk of mental health dollars split between California and county governments and force local leaders to spend more of those dollars on housing, slashing funding for mental health programs.
Homekey’s Impact in OC
Officials across the county have already utilized Homekey funding to convert rundown, seedy motels into homes for homeless people and veterans with mental health services on site.
These conversions are taking place in Stanton, Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach.
In May, Stanton – the only OC city to receive funding in the first round of Homekey – celebrated the conversions of the Tahiti Motel, the Riviera Motel and the Stanton Inn & Suites to over 150 homes.
Those three motels were converted with over $23 million from the first and second rounds of Homekey funding along with millions in funding from the county and the city as well.
In Round 2, Orange County received over $60 million in funding through Homekey to build over 200 homes including the conversion at the Riviera Motel in Stanton backed with $6 million from the state program.
That also includes the conversion of the Huntington Beach Oasis motel to 62 new affordable homes with over $17 million in homekey funding.
As well as a Costa Mesa’s conversion of a Motel 6 to 87 homes for veterans, low income seniors and people at risk of becoming homeless or are already living on the streets
The project was partly funded by almost $11 million from the state program.
Anaheim also got $27 million from the program in the second round to convert the Studio 6 motel to create over 88 new homes.
In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $29 million in grant funding to redevelop a motel on Bristol Street in Costa Mesa and turn it into 76 permanent supportive housing units for those just exiting homelessness.
“We are proud to stand with local partners who are serving their communities by providing much-needed housing to alleviate homelessness. We’ll continue to support local governments who are doing the work to ensure everyone has a place to call home,” Newsom said in an Aug. 14 news release.
The $29 million is part of close to $131 million in Homekey funds for nine new motel conversions and development projects across the state to build over 500 new homes with onsite services like mental health and medical services.
Outside of Homekey, Anaheim officials are also converting the Tampico Motel to youth housing with the help of $7.5 million in county and state money.
Officials there are also targeting numerous motels along Beach Boulevard, like the Anaheim Lodge, for residential redevelopment.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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