Newsom: $200 million for homeless housing

As Project Homekey funds begin to dry up, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said he’s seeking an extra $200 million to help more cities and counties convert property into homeless housing.

If approved by the state’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the request would increase the innovative program’s buying power by a third. So far, Project Homekey has allocated $449.9 million of its $600 million budget, funding 3,351 new housing units. Newsom announced 19 new projects -- including one in Alameda County -- on Monday.

“Not only is Homekey unprecedented in providing capital to house people experiencing homelessness, but we are moving with unprecedented speed,” Newsom wrote in a news release. “Most of these projects will be ready to house people very soon after the acquisitions are complete, providing immediate help to our most vulnerable residents.”

Among the $137 million awarded in the third round of funding Monday, nearly $14.5 million went to Alameda County to turn a hotel into permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless residents.

Newsom launched Project Homekey earlier this year as a way to provide long-term housing for homeless residents who had been moved off the street and into temporary hotel rooms and other shelters during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it quickly became apparent that $600 million wouldn’t be nearly enough to fund all the applications that came flooding in from throughout the state. Project Homekey received 138 applications requesting nearly $1.06 billion.

Projects in the fivecounty Bay Area alone have won more than $150 million so far. Local buildings that will be turned into homeless housing with Homekey funds include a college dormitory in Oakland, and hotels and motels in Milpitas, San Jose, Pittsburg and San Francisco. The funds also will go toward a modular home development in Mountain View.

Additional awards announced Monday include nearly $4.3 million to the city of Stockton to buy and renovate a 39-unit motel and turn it into permanent housing. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency won almost $12.5 million to convert a hotel into interim housing for households that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, and have been impacted by COVID-19. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles won $48.5 million for five projects totaling 269 units, and funds also went to Long Beach, Scotts Valley, and Santa Barbara, Sutter, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Tulare, Tehama, Del Norte, Lake and Mariposa counties.