Governor Newsom Awards an Additional $36 Million for New Homeless Housing

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All together, Homekey is creating 12,676 units of homeless housing

Today’s $36 million will create 132 homes for unhoused and at-risk Central Coast and San Jose residents

SACRAMENTO – Today Governor Gavin Newsom announced the final Homekey awards for 2022 totaling $36 million to four communities. All told, Homekey has awarded $2.753 billion to create 12,676 units across California. Homekey has been able to develop housing units for less money and more quickly than more traditional homeless housing and has become a national model.

“The success of Homekey proves what is possible when you are willing to challenge the status quo and try a new, outside of the box approach,” said Governor Newsom. “In just a little over two years since its inception, Homekey has given thousands of Californians a place to call home.”

Governor Newsom first launched Homekey to keep unhoused Californians safe during the fast-spreading COVID-19 global pandemic and has since expanded it as a cornerstone statewide homelessness program. Homekey sets aside funds to equitably distribute awards, including by geography and for projects serving tribes and homeless youth. The program has been one of the state’s most successful innovations to rapidly house people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, by helping local governments and tribal entities purchase or rehabilitate properties.

“We are grateful to local communities for coming together to provide a place to call home for individuals experiencing homelessness, and placing them on the path to long-term safe, stable housing with supportive services,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “From reusing a medical office building to providing factory-built homes, these final Round 2 Homekey awards show the spirit of innovation. In all, more than 200 Homekey projects have been funded since 2020, which will provide more than 12,500 interim and permanent affordable homes and improve the lives of individuals, families and neighborhoods across California.”

“Homekey is proof once again that what California is doing to solve homelessness – and to keep people from falling into homelessness in the first place – is moving with speed, innovation, and on-the-ground coordination,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “HCD first heard about the Anderson Hotel through our work with Preservation Notice Law, and through robust technical assistance and flexible resources like Homekey, we are preserving much-needed affordable homes for seniors to age in place.”

Today’s announcement includes the following:

  • The Housing Authority of the City of San Luis Obispo will receive $11.6 million to acquire and convert a 68-unit hotel into 40 permanent apartment homes and two manager units.
  • The City of San Jose will receive $19.9 million to acquire a 72-room motel in downtown San Jose to provide interim housing for two years to individuals experiencing homelessness, and will then be redeveloped into 72 permanent supportive homes.
  • The County of San Benito will receive $2.4 million to purchase 11 factory-built homes. These homes will include two two-bedroom and nine four-bedroom units serving chronically homeless households with supportive services.
  • The County of Santa Cruz will receive $2.2 million to serve individuals experiencing homelessness within a former commercial structure. The seven-unit adaptive reuse project (most recently used as a medical office building) will have two studios and five one-bedroom units and is in the City of Santa Cruz close to services.

The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will release a third round of Homekey funds in early 2023 after receiving stakeholder feedback for potential revisions.

For more information, visit hcd.ca.gov and the Homekey Awards Dashboard where Homekey project awards are tracked by dollar totals, project type, progress and region. The dashboard is updated in real time as additional projects are approved.

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