California’s housing department in August awarded a $29 million grant to convert the Travelodge by Wyndham Orange County Airport/Costa Mesa on Bristol Street into permanent supportive housing for those at risk of homelessness.
The state grant will support a partnership between the county and the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach to remodel the motel to create 76 affordable rental units, according to a news release from Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris.
Petrie-Norris in a statement said the project will create “a safe and nurturing environment for those unable to find stable housing in our community.”
OC Supervisor Katrina Foley, who represents the area, said addressing the homelessness crisis “requires aggressive redevelopment and partnership.”
The state’s investment “adds to the investment by the county of Orange of more than $7 million and nearly 50 project-based vouchers,” Foley said in a statement, adding it will benefit veterans, seniors and others struggling for housing.
Construction will soon start and the conversion will take around a year. By the end of 2025, the apartments are expected to be fully leased out, according to the news release.
Nonprofit American Family Housing will handle the conversion and run the property. It will have 36 studios and 40 one-bedroom apartments. Two additional units will be assigned to property managers.
Costa Mesa contributed $4 million to the project and Newport Beach $3 million. A June 2023 staff report from Costa Mesa officials estimated that the Travelodge would cost $45 million to be redeveloped.
Homekey began in 2020 and awards local communities grants to create new permanent housing units, usually for at-risk populations. It’s one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature programs.
Newsom visited Costa Mesa in January to tour another Homekey site and to urge voters to support March’s Proposition 1. The measure narrowly passed and will provide $2 billion in additional funding for Homkey through bonds.
The governor’s office announced the latest Homekey awards on Aug. 14, saying the $3.6 billion investment in the program since 2020 has created 15,850 new homes. The Travelodge motel is the only project in OC to get funding in the program’s third round of funding.
State officials estimate 172,329 households will have been served over the life of the project as units are turned over.
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