Phil Kramer is CEO of Housing Matters. (Housing Matters)
Santa Cruz County Supervisors meeting
- 9 a.m., Tuesday, June 24 at 701 Ocean St., top floor. Join in person, on Zoom or call 669-900-6833 meeting ID 856 6031 8161.
- To comment ahead of the meeting, email [email protected] by 5 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be streamed on Facebook.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from Santa Cruz city staff.
LIVE OAK >> A motel on Soquel Avenue near the Highway 1 off-ramp could become temporary housing for homeless people.
Santa Cruz-based homeless services nonprofit Housing Matters is considering buying the 20-room Santa Cruz Inn at 2950 Soquel Ave. with contributions from the city and county of Santa Cruz, according to a county staff report. Housing Matters leaders are trying to gather at least $4.9 million for the project.
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is set to consider spending $500,000 from Measure K sales tax revenue toward the project. The item is on the consent agenda and is not expected to be discussed.
If city and county leaders approve the money and Housing Matters buys the property, the motel could open for vouchers in October. It would serve as temporary housing through at least 2029.
The plan comes after months of delays on the county-helmed construction of a low-barrier navigation center with temporary housing for people with mental illness about a mile away at 2202 Soquel Ave. The county would contribute $500,000 of Measure K money originally intended for construction of the navigation center to help Housing Matters buy the Santa Cruz Inn. The navigation center can be completed with state money, and is now expected to open in 2026.
The City of Santa Cruz would contribute $2 million of a $4 million state grant toward the Santa Cruz Inn purchase. The money was originally intended to expand shelters on Housing Matters’ Coral Street campus and help rehouse people living on the street in the Harvey West neighborhood.
The majority of the remaining $2 million in grant money would go towards staffing for the inn and services for residents, Homelessness Response Manager Larry Imwalle wrote in an email Friday. Some money would pay for homeless outreach in the Harvey West area, he wrote.
The change in plans does not require Santa Cruz City Council approval because it abides by a prior council vote to use the grant for interim housing and homeless outreach, Imwalle wrote.
Housing Matters would contribute $2.4 million towards the Santa Cruz Inn purchase, according to the county staff report. State funds would pay for motel vouchers through June 2026.
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Jesse Kathan is a staff reporter for Santa Cruz Local through the California Local News Fellowship. They hold a master's degree in science communications from UC Santa Cruz.
