California considers grant to renovate Super 8 into housing for homeless individuals
Local officials are waiting to hear whether Goleta and Santa Barbara County will get a California grant to convert this Super 8 motel at 6021 Hollister Ave. into housing for homeless individuals.
City and county officials expect to learn in mid-March whether California has accepted their application for about $16 million in grant funding to renovate a Super 8 motel in Goleta into housing for homeless individuals.
That application is the main hurdle before officials can begin to move forward on the project and its more intricate details, Jaime Valdez, Goleta’s neighborhood services director, told the News-Press on Friday.
If the $16 million is approved by the state, the Super 8 at 6021 Hollister Ave. would be purchased and renovated to provide 59 housing units for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming unhoused.
The units would be converted to function as more permanent housing, meaning they would be equipped with a kitchen area and living space as opposed to just operating as a standard small motel room.
Additionally, five units would be converted to offer supportive services, from offering health and mental health care services to providing guidance one might need to transition from living outdoors to indoors, Mr. Valdez said.
Another unit would be designated for an on-site property manager.
The project is estimated to cost about $20 million with more than $16 million earmarked from the Homekey 2.0 program if approved.
“This is $16 million that would otherwise not come into the county or the city of Goleta to address the issues surrounding people experiencing homelessness in the community,” John Polanskey of the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County said during a presentation earlier this month. “The team has agreed this is a great opportunity to bring in state funding in a significant amount to try to house some of the unhoused folks within and around the city of Goleta.”
The statewide Homekey program helps state, regional and local public entities convert hotels, commercial properties, single-family houses and more to rapidly expand housing options for people experiencing homelessness or at-risk of becoming unhoused and impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In all, the California Department of Housing and Community Development has designated about $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2021-2022 in grant funding for these projects.
If California approves the $16 million, an additional $2 million is expected from the state for rental subsidies and operating costs, according to officials. Santa Barbara County would provide some funding, and Goleta has agreed to put up $600,000 if the money from the state is approved, said Mr. Valdez.
The Super 8 project is billed as an effort to increase the supply of transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and emergency housing.
Mr. Polanskey said the concept of permanent supportive housing means a person would be able to reside in a unit for as long as needed and so long as the individual adheres to all lease terms and rules. The supportive services would include individualized case management, education and employment aid, and on-site services, among other things.
If the project is approved to move forward and comes to fruition, individuals who seek to live at the facility would need to sign a lease and adhere to certain commitments. It would be open to both individuals and households, Mr. Valdez said.
Other changes to the Super 8 motel would include transforming its pool into a community garden and outdoor recreation area. Other renovations would increase laundry facilities and the accessibility of some units.
“The most important thing is that it’s designed to create the stability that is lacking when folks are on the street and unhoused,” Mr. Valdez said.
But Goleta residents have expressed concern about safety if the project continues — both in the community and within the converted motel among its new residents.
“These will be tenants that have expectations, and if they don’t meet those expectations, the Housing Authority has, in the past, evicted people. It’s not their first choice; it’s not what they want to do, but if they feel it’s what they must do, they will do it,” said Mr. Valdez, adding the Housing Authority is committed to being a “good neighbor” and ensuring the project has appropriate upkeep.
“I think there’s some general trepidation about something like this. It sounds like it could be scary or problematic, but like anything, if the people involved are being supportive and you have people there to make sure things stay in line, it would work,” Mr. Valdez continued.
During the earlier presentation, Mr. Polanskey also noted the residents at the housing development would primarily be people who are already living in and around Goleta.
“If anything is the case, the incidents associated with people experiencing homelessness and the community impacts of that go down when we’re able to house people in permanent supportive housing,” Mr. Polanskey said.
According to a presentation given last week, nearly 1,900 people in Santa Barbara County in 2020 were experiencing homelessness.
There are six permanent supportive housing developments in Santa Barbara County. The closest to the proposed Goleta location is Pescadero Lofts in Isla Vista.
Mr. Polanskey said the average time of being unhoused was 14 years when residents moved in.
email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
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Goleta, county expect to hear soon from state - Santa Barbara News-Press
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