GILROY
– Construction has begun on the financial foundation for the
homeless shelter and transitional housing units to be built in
Gilroy next year. Public and even private funds have been dedicated
to the multimillion-dollar Sobrato Family Transitional Center, but
much more is needed.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Construction has begun on the financial foundation for the homeless shelter and transitional housing units to be built in Gilroy next year. Public and even private funds have been dedicated to the multimillion-dollar Sobrato Family Transitional Center, but much more is needed.
The Emergency Housing Consortium and South County Housing project at 9345 Monterey Road is expected to cost $21.5 million. So far, $6.5 million has come in from public funding sources, leaving a $15 million gap that must be mostly filled before construction begins next year.
“The goal is that we are hoping to start construction on the family apartments in spring/summer of 2004, but we have to raise all of the project monies before construction,” said Katrina Thielman, communications manager for EHC. “We’re hoping that we can (do that), and there are some other public funding sources we can tap into.”
The center received a $500,000 gift from the Sobrato Family Foundation early this summer and has received $1 million in funds related to Proposition 46, Thielman said. Proposition 46 is a $2.1 billion state bond measure to provide shelters and transitional housing that voters approved last November.
The center actually includes two separate projects: Sobrato Apartments, 60 transitional housing units for singles and families, which will be built and run by EHC and South County Housing, and Sobrato Transitional Center, a 140-bed emergency shelter run by EHC. Each project has its own budget and fund-raising needs.
The center as a whole will help people transition from homelessness to affordable housing as staff work with residents to create a plan for becoming self-sufficient, Thielman said. It is expected to provide housing and services to 2,200 individuals each year. Transitional housing tenants can use the services for up to two years. They must have some source of income to pay a small fee and must attend case management, workshops and educational seminars, Thielman said.
Sobrato Apartments
Construction on the 60 units of transitional family housing will begin first and should take a year to 18 months. Some $3 million in funding from public sources has been secured for the $15 million project, said Mary Iserman, senior project manager for South County Housing.
“It’s gone very well,” Iserman said of the fund-raising effort.
The county Office of Affordable Housing recently awarded the project a $1.7 million loan, the state Emergency Housing Assistance Program has committed $500,000 through Proposition 46 and the private federal Affordable Housing Program committed $420,000.
“The county money was not anticipated,” Iserman said. “That was a gap we had, and by getting it, that has really moved the project forward.”
As the project secures funds, even more becomes available, Iserman said. The county loan made it possible to apply for a highly competitive $3.96 million grant from the state’s Multiple Family Housing Program. Similarly, the California Housing Finance Authority is “semi-committed” to providing $2.3 million in funds, as well as an $11-million construction loan, contingent on the $3.96 million grant. A decision on the grant will be made in December, Iserman said.
“We’re getting really close to getting full funding for the project,” Iserman said. “We are hoping to get it by next spring.”
The $3.96 million grant and California Housing Finance Authority monies will go toward paying off the construction loan. Iserman said the project will also apply for about $5 million in federal tax credits as funding is secured.
Sobrato Transitional Center
The 140-bed emergency shelter portion of the Sobrato Family Transitional Center has secured $3.5 million for the $6.5 million project, Thielman said.
Like the apartment project, the emergency shelter also received funding from the county Office of Affordable Housing in the form of a $1.48 million grant. The shelter received $500,000 in Proposition 46 funds through the state Emergency Housing Assistance Program, while other funding has come mostly from state and local funds, as well as some private donations.
“We’re very excited that different sources have opened up this funding to us,” Thielman said, “and we’re excited that the County of Santa Clara has embraced this project and really helped us out tremendously.”
Financing for emergency shelters is more difficult to come by than for affordable housing projects, Thielman said, because tenants do not pay rent and so provide no regular income.
“It is hard to go through traditional financing such as banks and loans,” Thielman said. “The emergency shelters tend to have to go for either private donations or public funding by way of Housing and Urban Development.”
The EHC will likely launch a fund-raising campaign this winter, possibly with a kick-off event at the opening of the Cold Weather Shelter at the Gilroy National Armory in December.
“Of course, there’s less money for everything, it seems, and there’s competition for every kind of funding,” Thielman said. “Our first goal is to tap in to the public funding we’re eligible for … but we know that there is some public fund raising we will have to do.”
Construction on the emergency shelter will commence sometime in 2005, and will take up to 18 months to complete, Thielman said.
