San Diego plans to transform an empty warehouse near the city’s airport into a 65,000-square-foot homeless shelter with space for 1,000 people, showers, a kitchen, recreational areas and counseling services.
The proposal, announced Thursday by Mayor Todd Gloria, is a retreat from his controversial proposal to build a large shelter at H Barracks near Harbor Island.
Opponents of the H Barracks plan, which faces possible legal challenges, called the mayor’s shift a small victory but expressed concern about a revised plan to let people living in cars use the site to park.
Others criticized the mayor for quietly negotiating the deal for the new shelter site without gathering public input or alerting nearby residents and businesses.
The proposal, which must be approved by the City Council this spring, aims to fulfill the mayor’s promise in January to add 1,000 new beds to the city’s shelter system this year.
The facility with 1,000 new beds, which would be the largest long-term shelter ever established in San Diego County, would boost the city’s current shelter capacity of 1,856 beds by more than 50 percent.
It would also respond to requests from some City Council members for expanded shelter capacity since the city began enforcing its new ban on homeless encampments on public property last summer.
The proposed shelter, located at 3570 Kettner Blvd. near Vine Street, is just east of the airport between Interstate 5 and Pacific Highway. The neighborhood, called Middletown, is north of Little Italy and west of Mission Hills.
The mayor is proposing a 35-year lease with two possible five-year extensions. The rent would be $1.9 million per year, and city officials estimate the building needs $18 million in renovations and upgrades.
Early estimates are that the large shelter would require $30 million per year in staffing and operational costs.
The renovations and operations would be funded with a combination of local, state and federal funds, plus some potentially significant contributions from local donors, Gloria said.
Donations are being sought in particular for the estimated $18 million in renovations, a spokesperson for Gloria said.
In January, the mayor announced he was also launching a nonprofit called San Diegans Together Tackling Homelessness and said then that it already had commitments for $250,000 from undisclosed donors.
The Gloria spokesperson, Rachel Laing, said funding for the new shelter would not require cutting funding for any other city homelessness efforts.
The mayor said the new shelter would be a key part of his comprehensive strategy to address the city’s notorious homelessness problem.
“Substantially increasing our shelter capacity will have an immediate impact as we work on the other aspects of our comprehensive approach to ending homelessness, including prevention and the creation of affordable housing,” the mayor said.
Gloria’s re-election opponent, police officer Larry Turner, criticized the mayor for what he called a lack of transparency. He also questioned whether it’s the right site based on its location near residential neighborhoods and major transportation routes.
“We need to ensure that any proposal to address homelessness is not only effective but also respects the concerns and needs of residents,” Turner said.
Point Loma Cares, a nonprofit group that has been fighting the H Barracks plan, welcomed the shift away from a full-blown shelter to a city-operated parking site for homeless people living in cars.
“It’s exciting — it’s a small victory,” said Margaret Virissimo, a group leader. “But we have tons of questions because it was a rapid, wildfire change in location.”
The mayor said Thursday that if the City Council approved the large shelter, H Barracks would instead be used for roughly 200 spaces of designated parking. He said the site might also have space for a temporary shelter of some sort, something more substantial than a tent but less substantial than a building.
Virissimo said her group wants to see detailed plans for both sites before formally expressing support for anything. She said group members are also frustrated the mayor has declined to negotiate with them.
“It would have been nice to be in the loop on his plans,” she said. “We just want a conversation. We are still being ignored.”
The city’s leading homelessness official praised Gloria’s proposal.
“The planned size and floor plan of the Kettner and Vine facility give the city flexibility to potentially serve multiple populations — including families, youth and single women or men,” said Sarah Jarman, director of homelessness strategies and solutions. “The long-term lease also enables the city to upgrade the facility based on the changing needs of unsheltered residents. This shelter would operate similarly to others, with the ultimate goal of connecting San Diegans experiencing homelessness to permanent housing.”
Gloria’s staff is scheduled to present the proposal to the council’s Land Use and Housing Committee on April 18.
While the role that donors will play is still unclear, the San Diego Foundation praised the proposal.
“The opportunity to house up to 1,000 individuals and families in a safe, secure space with supportive services is a huge win for all San Diegans,” said Mark Stuart, the foundation’s chief executive. “The Kettner and Vine solution is a big leap toward that future.”
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who represents downtown, called the proposal good news for city neighborhoods.
“We will see fewer encampments on our sidewalks, and people experiencing homelessness will benefit from a safer, healthier place where they can begin to get back on their feet,” Whitburn said.
During his annual State of the City address in January, the mayor had proposed 1,000 new shelter beds across the city during 2024. While he didn’t provide a lot of specifics, he said two possible locations were H Barracks and the old downtown library on E Street.
The proposed shelter on Kettner would get the city to the 1,000 target with a single project.
Since Gloria took office in late 2020, San Diego has opened a mix of traditional shelters and city-run designated camping sites and parking lots. The Kettner shelter would be the 11th such new overnight facility he has opened as mayor.
