The Redwood City Council allocated about $1.3 million to convert a hotel into housing, which, through its federal funds, will transform the Comfort Inn & Suites into a homeless space.
Thus, the council voted Monday night to allocate the funds and initiate a funding agreement with San Mateo County, which has also dedicated county funds to help renovate the 51-room hotel, located at 1818 El Camino Real.
The city's money would come from the HOME Investment Partnerships program, or HOME, a special fund of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Such funds may be used to provide affordable housing, rental assistance or other types of support.
To receive HOME funds, the city must first have its plan approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Councilors fully supported the proposal, with each member voting in favor of the $1.3 million financing plan to convert a hotel into affordable housing.
During the session, some councilors pointed out that this project comes at an opportune moment, after last Sunday's a camp fire at Woodside Road and El Camino Real, There were no injuries, but damage was reported to a residential property, automobiles and other personal property.
In that regard, Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale said the hotel renovation was an incredible opportunity to keep people housed.
"This is something that our council has expressed a long-term commitment to for two years and it is becoming increasingly urgent," the official said.
He also assured the council that the city would not lose too much money from the lack of transient occupancy tax revenue the hotel would have generated.
"I actually looked into what these individual hotels were producing in terms of revenue and what we're paying to provide programming and services. And it really is a negligible difference. We need to continue to avoid homelessness. It's expensive and we need to keep people housed," he stressed.
San Mateo County is in the process of purchasing the Comfort Inn & Suites with funds from the state's Project Homekey initiative. Part of the money will help convert the hotel's rooms into 51 studios.
The renovations, with the $1.3 million to convert a hotel into affordable housing, would include adding kitchens to each of the studio units, filling the pool and making the building more suitable.
The county expects to acquire the hotel this spring and complete construction in the fall, so units should be ready in early 2023.
Once completed, the Comfort Inn project would become the third hotel the county has acquired for conversion to transitional or permanent housing for the homeless.
Currently, there are not enough housing units to house those in need, according to Raymond Hodges, director of the San Mateo County Housing Department.
"The goal would always be to move those people (living on the streets) directly into housing if we have the opportunity," Hodges said. "Sometimes there are not enough units and right now that's the situation we're in."
In addition to the $1.3 million to convert a hotel into affordable housing, the City Council allocated about $179,000 to help administer the funds, which will cover the cost of preparing the financing plan and conducting an environmental review. The review is required before the city and county can enter into a financing agreement.
Notably, the county is partnering with nonprofit housing developer Alta Housing, which will operate the project, and the Mental Health Association of San Mateo County, which will help provide services.
With information from Bay City News.
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