San Mateo County formally approves hotel housing for homeless

In early November, the county was awarded a $33 million state grant to enable the purchase of two hotels, opting to supplement the remaining property balances with federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding. Under Project Homekey, the county will purchase the TownePlace Suites Hotel in Redwood Shores and the Pacific Inn located along El Camino Real. 

Redwood Shores residents, frustrated with a lack of communication, said they were first alerted to the hotel purchase a day before the Board of Supervisors approved the agreements during a special Nov. 5 meeting. Many, then and on Tuesday, raised concerns the facility was improperly located near a child care center and Highway 101 while being too far away from transportation and affordable amenities.  

During Tuesday’s meeting, Sue Nix, the president of the Redwood Shores Community Association, said the county participated in one additional community meeting which left more than 200 questions unanswered. She requested the county put in writing that the hotel would only be used for senior housing and that the neighborhood association be alerted of any county intentions to change the use of the building eight months in advance. 

“That’s been a concern for us from day one. We’re told there’s a great need and we don’t disagree but we do have many concerns for what will happen to the facility 10 years or 15 years down the road. We would like some clarification,” said Nix.  

County Manager Mike Callagy detailed three measures the county will take to include input from the association moving forward. The organization will be allowed to review the request for qualifications form sent out to interested operators, receive a presentation from the selected operator before a contract is signed and participate in a quarterly meeting the first year the facility is established where concerns can be raised and addressed. 

The Redwood Shores hotel, costing nearly $29.3 million, will provide 95 rooms to seniors ages 62 and older. The units will range from studios to three-bedroom apartments and will be offered at 30% below median family income to seniors who may or may not have been homeless.

“The fundamental duty of government is to look out for the health and safety of all residents. … We serve everyone,” said Callagy, noting the facility would be professionally run and the county would ensure occupant transportation needs were met.  

Unlike the TownePlace Suites Hotel, the Pacific Inn Hotel would be used as transitional housing, providing the unsheltered with wraparound services along with assistance finding permanent homes. The hotel, worth $21.5 million, would include 74 bedrooms on a 1.5-acre lot. Redwood City will be hosting an informational community meeting Thursday, Dec. 3, where residents near the hotel can express their own concerns, said Callagy. 

The two hotels together will bring 170 units into the county, which have been inspected and approved as environmentally safe and inhabitable. The county is also looking to purchase two hotels in Half Moon Bay with CARES Act funding to use as transitional housing, the Coastside and Quality inns. The county will consider purchasing the Half Moon Bay hotels during a Dec. 8 Board of Supervisors meeting.

Like the Redwood City hotels, the county does not need City Council approval to purchase the buildings but has sought community input from Half Moon Bay officials before formalizing an agreement. Many during Tuesday’s meeting raised concerns around the community process, to which supervisors acknowledged worries but ultimately voted to approve the agreements. 

“I understand people don’t like change but the idea that process would make that better, well I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s what happens,” said Supervisor Don Horsley, a longtime advocate for a modern county navigation center. 

Previously acknowledging the community’s concerns in a phone interview, Callagy said state and federal funding schedules require the county have hotel deals closed by Dec. 2, with at least 50% of residents occupying the facility within 90 days and 100% occupancy reached within 180 days. 

Project Homekey evolved from the state’s COVID-driven temporary housing program Project Roomkey, a $600 million state-funded program expected to be phased out by the end of the year. 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

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