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The Comfort Inn & Suites is on track to become a new site for permanent, affordable housing in Redwood City, thanks to recent contributions from the city and state.
The Redwood City Council voted unanimously on Monday to direct $1.3 million in unspent federal funds toward the renovation of the Comfort Inn. Renovations would include adding kitchens to each of the studio units, filling in the swimming pool and making the building more accessible. The county expects to acquire the hotel this spring and complete construction in the fall. Units should be ready by early 2023.
“It’s incredibly important to the stability of the community to have people housed and not living on the street,” said Mayor Giselle Hale. “This has got to be a priority.”
The hotel, a 51-room complex at 1818 El Camino Real in downtown Redwood City, was recently purchased by the County of San Mateo as part of an ongoing effort to address the growing homeless population and achieve the county’s stated goal of “functional zero.”
Last week, the County received nearly $16 million in state funding for the purchase, rehabilitation and operation of the Comfort Inn as part of California’s Project Homekey. Redwood City’s contribution includes $1,194,369 in HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program (HOME-ARP) funds and $329,278 in unspent HOME funds, according to the staff report.
The city's money would come from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, or HOME, a special fund from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Funding can be used to provide affordable housing, rental assistance or other kinds of support. To receive its HOME funds, the city will need to have its plan approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development first.
In addition to an affordable apartment, residents will receive on-site services such as education, employment, mental health rehabilitation and medical assistance through partners Alta Housing and the Mental Health Association of San Mateo County.
Former mayor Diane Howard asked for assurances that current Redwood City residents would be given priority in the new housing facility. She also called for clear criteria outlining who would be allowed entry, “to make sure that people don’t enter this facility possibly as registered sex offenders.”
“There's a neighborhood right behind it, and I know there will be concerns from the neighborhood if, in fact, they’re not feeling protected,” she said.
All rooms will go to formerly homeless people, with a focus on those currently unhoused in Redwood City, County Housing Director Raymond Hodges told the Pulse.
Council member Michael Smith, who represents District 4 where the hotel is located, said his community is “at the epicenter of the homelessness crisis in our city.”
He noted that the hotel is a short walk from one of the largest encampments in the city, adding, “I believe that the conversion of this hotel into permanent housing for homeless residents or unhoused residents is going to be a meaningful step forward.”
The decision comes just a day after a fire blazed through the nearby homeless encampment on Woodside Road and El Camino. No one was injured, but the city issued a statement calling on CalTrans to take “immediate action to prevent future incidents.”
“We have so many issues related to homelessness underway,” Hale said during Monday’s meeting. “We have the other hotels, we have the Navigation Center, we have the work already underway with safe parking.”
She recommended creating a project timeline to educate the council and larger community about ongoing efforts to address homelessness and “get that bigger picture view of when…we’re going to be able to help people transition into a temporary and then more permanent housing solution.”
The City’s March 14 State of the City Address will focus on city-wide efforts to eliminate homelessness and ensure homes for all.
Once complete, the Comfort Inn project would become the third hotel that the county has acquired to convert to transitional or permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
