The city of Oceanside and the San Diego Rescue Mission have been working together since late 2021 on the city’s first homeless shelter.
The navigation center will be set up at the old Ocean Shores High School campus, but the property required a complete overhaul. The city agreed to carry the costs of the remodel, originally estimated at around $2.2 million.
That amount has now increased to $7.6 million.
"The cost overruns have a lot to do with just really ancient on-site stuff ... like asbestos removal and things like that, that are very costly," said Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez.
Costs added up when changes to the original plans were made.
The addition of Oceanside’s code enforcement office and a police training building next to the shelter meant larger upgrades to the electrical, plumbing and sewer.
"They realize, 'This is a building we're going to own and want to keep for a long time," said Donnie Dee, president of the San Diego Rescue Mission. "So let's go ahead and do the roof. Let's go ahead and put in air conditioning, which is going to be very helpful for the clients that we're working with. Let's go ahead and change that big sewage line that needs to be taken out. Let's go ahead and repave as well.'"
He said the work has pushed back their plans to open, but he understands the city is thinking about the long terms for the property.
"They're gonna rehab the building. And they're gonna spend their costs up front," he said. The city agreed to pay for the remodel, while the San Diego Rescue Mission would take care of the operating costs.
"So it's not gonna cost taxpayers any money to fund that annual operating budget in Oceanside," Dee said.
Some of the increased costs would be covered by a federal grant.
The 50-bed navigation center is expected to open next month, with the option of expansion.
"We're gonna fill up quickly too," Dee said. "The 50-bed facility has the potential to be a 100-bed facility ... But we're starting at 50, per the city's request. Once we show them that we know how to do this — it's what we've been doing for 50 years — and to show them that we can do this and do it with excellence, we'll try to get them to increase that to 100 beds."
The first clients going into Oceanside’s navigation center will be participants from the motel voucher program.
