San Diego is exploring turning another privately owned building into a long-term homeless shelter after a controversial plan to use an empty warehouse near the airport finally fell through last week.
Council members on Monday told the city’s Independent Budget Analyst to study how much it would cost to lease or buy what appears to be a three-story office building near Little Italy. Staffers estimated that the site could be ready within a year.
The council rejected two other city-owned properties as possible shelters, at least in the short term, citing renovations that could have left taxpayers on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.
“If we don’t want people living in our canyons and open spaces, if want to reduce the fire risk to our neighborhoods, then we need more shelter beds,” said Councilmember Stephen Whitburn. “We have to get moving on something.”
Only around 1 out of every 10 requests for a spot at a traditional shelter succeeded during much of last year, largely because existing programs are often full, officials have said. Compounding the shortfall is the fact that the region has long relied on temporary structures, including some that recently closed.
Mayor Todd Gloria thought he’d found a longer-term solution when he threw his weight behind a nearly 65,000-square-foot warehouse in the Middletown neighborhood that could have theoretically held 1,000 beds. The plan’s many critics flagged potential legal risks, environmental hazards and the multi-decade price tag — which was likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars — leading the mayor on Friday to abandon the idea.
He thanked the council this week for looking into another option. “Our sustained action over the past several years is turning the tide on this crisis, and additional shelter will help ensure our progress on reducing homelessness and ending unsafe encampments continues,” Gloria said in a statement.
The new location is described in public records as a 25,740-square-foot building on Second Avenue. Leaders have so far declined to give an exact address, but real estate broker Derek Hulse previously told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the city has been interested in a complex with that exact square footage at 1515 2nd Ave.
It’s not clear what a lease or purchase might cost. Lisa Jones, president and CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission, did say the building mainly needed additional showers and that renovations should come in well below $2 million.
The other sites discussed Monday would have required substantially more money.
The largest contender was the City Operations Building at 1222 First Ave. That complex has more than 217,600 square feet and needed an estimated $45.2 million in updates. An even more expensive option was the Old Central Library at 820 E St. The aging structure has already been used intermittently as a small women’s shelter, yet overhauling the five floors could have required about $86.8 million.
The turnaround time wasn’t quick either: Construction might have taken nearly four years. Nor did the above dollar amounts include operating expenses. “I just don’t think the strategy of having the city rehab old, dilapidated buildings is cost effective,” said Councilmember Marni von Wilpert.
Monday’s vote also called on staffers to consider adding more beds to the Veterans Village of San Diego’s Mission Hills campus. That site was recently remade as a more traditional homeless shelter after the California Department of Health Care Services, citing “serious concerns about client safety,” forced the nonprofit to stop running a substance use treatment center.
Leaders continue to consider uses for the Old Central Library, which has largely been vacant for more than a decade.
Monday’s presentation followed call-outs to property owners asking for any buildings that could house homeless residents. The city got 17 responses, staffers said. Nine were vetted and 5 ultimately found to have potential.
The next shelter set to close is the 40-bed Rachel’s Promise facility. While that program ends in June, leaders are hopeful about replacing those spots through a new partnership with Catholic Charities. A revamped Rachel’s Promise Center for Women and Children could hold more than 200 beds downtown, including some private rooms and space for older adults, officials said.
The housing commission is scheduled to consider that proposal during a public hearing Friday.
San Diego continues to turn several vacant acres next to the airport into a safe parking lot where homeless people can sleep in their vehicles. The H Barracks site should be ready by spring — the city had previously hoped to launch around the start of the year — although that timeline might again change because of a lawsuit filed by a real estate developer who believes the project is both illegal and imperils plans for a new hotel.
Seven council members voted in favor of the Second Avenue property as a possible shelter, with none opposed. Council members Raul Campillo and Jennifer Campbell were absent.
Homelessness in San Diego County grew every month for more than two-and-a-half years before contracting slightly in November and December.
