The city’s ambitious plan to house 1,000 homeless military veterans relies on a one-time infusion of local cash.
Two years ago, the San Diego Housing Commission adopted a plan to house 1,500 homeless people over three years. Now, the agency is looking at Mayor Kevin Faulconer's plan to house 1,000 homeless veterans by the end of this year. One reason the city can be so much more ambitious is an infusion of local money.
“There is money coming from the housing commission and the city, through a couple of one-off real estate transactions that we had not anticipated some time ago,” said Rick Gentry, CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission.
The housing commission will kick in $3 million from the sale of the Hotel Metro, a closed single-room occupancy building downtown.
The mayor’s office is chipping in $4 million. The city is essentially returning the money the Housing Commission paid to continue leasing the ground underneath San Diego Square — a downtown high-rise dedicated to subsidized housing.
The Housing Commission is expected to take up Faulconer's plan on Friday, followed by the San Diego City Council on March 1.
