GILROY
– The partner project between the Emergency Housing Consortium
and South County Housing Corp. will soon offer new housing options
for homeless and low-income families in South Santa Clara
County.
When complete, the Sobrato Family Transitional Center will
include 60 two- to three-bedroom transitional and permanent
apartments as well as a 140-bed emergency shelter, said Hilary
Barroga, development manager for the Emergency Housing
Consortium.
GILROY – The partner project between the Emergency Housing Consortium and South County Housing Corp. will soon offer new housing options for homeless and low-income families in South Santa Clara County.
When complete, the Sobrato Family Transitional Center will include 60 two- to three-bedroom transitional and permanent apartments as well as a 140-bed emergency shelter, said Hilary Barroga, development manager for the Emergency Housing Consortium.
The apartments are part of the project’s second phase, which will break ground in October. The 140-bed shelter, planned to sit adjacent to the apartments, will be constructed in the project’s third and final phase, Barroga said.
All 13 for-sale market-rate homes recently constructed during the project’s first phase have been sold.
The new building, named after the Sobrato Family Foundation, will be housed at 9345 Monterey Road, between Las Animas and Cohansey Avenue.
The full-time assistance of the Sobrato facility will replace the programs of the Gilroy Armory Winter Shelter, located at 8949 Wren Ave. That building, although leased by the consortium during winters since 2002, is primarily used for National Guard training purposes. The consortium will continue to provide winter care to local homeless individuals until the project is complete.
When full-time programs at the new Sobrato facility are underway, the National Guard will again utilize the armory building as a year-round training facility.
Julie Roybal, the armory’s site manager, said the shelter sees nearly 100 people per night during the winter, and she’s hopeful a full-time facility will provide some welcome relief to South County’s homeless population.
”This is a really necessary service for South County,” Barroga said. ”The Gilroy Armory is full almost every night, so there is definitely a need for support. We had a great community response for the houses, and we’re expecting the same for the new facilities.”
The center, to be modeled after the Boccardo Reception Center in San Jose, will provide a variety of support services including drug and alcohol rehabilitation, children’s services and parenting programs. A key point of the new facility will be its focus on serving the homeless exclusively in South County, Barroga said.
”This is not intended to be a branch of service for people in the central or northern part of the county,” Barroga said. ”This is for people experiencing homelessness in the southern part of Santa Clara County, and we want to emphasize that.”
There are about 20,000 people per year who experience homelessness in Santa Clara County.
Andy Lief, senior project manager for South County Housing, said about $2 million secured preliminary project measures such as land acquisition and architectural design. The construction costs will reach about $8.5 million.
