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PALO ALTO, CA – Following the State announcement yesterday, the City of Palo Alto and LifeMoves confirm the award of $26.6 million to be used to develop an interim housing shelter with the capacity to serve over 300 individuals annually with on-site support services. The grant award is a part of a statewide effort to sustain and rapidly expand housing for those who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness.
Located at 1237 San Antonio Road in Palo Alto near the Palo Alto Baylands, the Homekey Palo Alto site will provide a dignified transitional step for unhoused residents on the path to stable housing.
“This State Homekey grant is the cornerstone of the transitional housing project that the City has been working on for the past year in partnership with LifeMoves, and with critical support from the Sobrato Philanthropies and the County of Santa Clara,” said Pat Burt, mayor of Palo Alto. “The project will couple housing with the social and medical support services needed to successfully transition our unhoused individuals and families to permanent housing. We thank Governor Newsom, Assemblymember Berman, State Senator Becker, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian for their continued support of this important project.”
The State funding will be combined with local contributions from the Palo Alto Community Fund, Sobrato Philanthropies, Santa Clara County, and the City of Palo Alto for a total project cost estimated at $26.6 million. In anticipation of the State award, the City of Palo Alto dedicated half of a 2.6-acre City-owned parcel to provide land for the Homekey Palo Alto site. The full 2.6-acre site is valued at $9.3 million.
“These are solvable problems,” said County Supervisor Joe Simitian, “but they are only solvable if we all pitch in — public sector, private sector, non-profits and government at every level. It’s been almost a year since the County announced its multi-million-dollar commitment, and I’m so pleased that the rest of the pieces have now fallen into place. It's truly a game changer for folks who are struggling in our area.”
Homekey Palo Alto is the first of its kind for the City of Palo Alto. LifeMoves has partnered with several communities to further a sustainable model providing capacity to quickly and effectively transition unhoused individuals off the streets and into interim supportive housing. The City of Palo Alto has also focused on unhoused services as part of City Council priorities and through funding the City’s human services facilitated by local non-profit and community partnerships. The Homekey Palo Alto shelter will continue the LifeMoves model and further the City’s unhoused services through partnerships with existing community services.
“We are so grateful for the support from the State of California, County of Santa Clara, City of Palo Alto and philanthropic leaders like John A. Sobrato,” said Aubrey Merriman, CEO of LifeMoves. “Homekey Palo Alto is a reflection of how creative public and private partnerships can help provide those experiencing homelessness a safe and dignified place to call home, bringing hundreds more off the streets and into a supportive environment and on a path to permanent housing."
Slated for completion in late summer 2023, Homekey Palo Alto will be operated by LifeMoves who will provide intensive, customized case management for clients including counseling, employment and housing search services with the goal of paving a dignified path to self-sufficiency. LifeMoves is partnering with an award winning team to build Homekey Palo Alto, including Sares Regis Group of Northern California, XL Construction, the Office of Charles F. Bloszies, FAIA, and engineering firms BKF and Meyers+.
For more information on the City of Palo Alto, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org
For more on LifeMoves, visit www.lifemoves.org.
For more information on Homekey, visit http://homekey.hcd.ca.gov.
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