MOTEL TO BE CONVERTED INTO SHELTER

A new 164-bed shelter for homeless families will open later this year in a former Barrio Logan motel that is being leased by the city of San Diego.

“As long as there are people living unsheltered in the city of San Diego, we will not stop working to get them off the streets and on a path to housing,” Mayor Todd Gloria said in announcing the new shelter Wednesday. “This new shelter will give 42 struggling families a private space of their own to live while we work to connect them to a permanent home.”

The new facility will expand the number of shelter beds in the city to 1,948, including 210 shelter beds already provided for families and youths at Golden Hall. In January, the city announced the opening of a 36bed women’s shelter in the former Central Library on E Street.

The former Barrio Logan Travelodge will be converted to a shelter that will provide a stable place for homeless families to receive on-site support services, security, meals and case management, according to the mayor’s office.

The lease is for an initial seven-month term, with two one-year extension options. The city’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department will use about $350,000 awarded to the city as part of the county of San Diego’s $10 million Capital Emergency Housing Solutions Grant Program.

No opening date for the shelter has been announced, and the city first must make capital improvements to the building and hire a service provider to operate the shelter.

Plans also are moving forward for a new family shelter in Escondido. In March, the Escondido City Council will consider accepting a $736,000 county grant to help pay for a $2 million, 36-bed shelter to be operated by Interfaith Community Services.