After announcing last week that he would no longer advance with plans for a proposed homeless shelter campus on Kettner and Vine, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on Sunday proposed three locations for potential homeless shelters that will be presented to the San Diego City Council during their meeting on Monday.
City scraps plans for shelter at Kettner and Vine
The three new sites were assessed with a goal of increasing long-term capacity in shelters and have been initially reviewed by the City's Homelessness Strategies and Solution Department and the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), according to officials.
The locations that will be presented were described by city officials as:
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- 1222 First Avenue: The current City Operations Building, which will no longer be occupied as of this spring. The site has five floors, totaling about 217,000 square feet. Refurbishment costs are estimated at $45.2 million
- 820 E Street: The former Central Library building, which is currently vacant. The building also has five floors, and is about 150,000 square feet. Refurbishment costs are estimated at $86.8 million
- 2nd Avenue property: A privately owned, mixed-use space with about 25,000 square feet. The address is being withheld given the potential for future negotiations. Its refurbishment costs are still undetermined
The sites being considered are part of an effort to advance the Comprehensive Shelter Strategy that was brought to the city council in June 2023.
Kevin Yuen, who owns a tattoo shop across the street from the proposed shelter site on E Street, said he already sees a large presence of unhoused individuals outside his shop. He hopes a shelter could make some sort of impact.
"Is that going to affect our walk-ins, are we going to see people struggling just as much? Is it going to make an immediate effect?" Yuen said. "We just want a good, clean business, and a good safe environment for everybody, including ourselves and people outside."
Gloria's office released a statement about the proposals, which reads, in part:
“We’ve identified several key sites that can serve as permanent shelters, including two already owned by the city, and I urge the city council to authorize us to take the next steps in order to help more people off the street. Data clearly show our work to reduce homelessness is turning the tide, but we need more space for people to go. It is my hope the city council will join me in meeting this moment with the decisiveness and urgency it demands.”
Gloria also reiterated that the city plans to open a new Safe Parking Program lot on Harbor Drive near the San Diego International Airport, which the city says will almost double the amount of space available in that program.
Along with those efforts, officials are also mulling a partnership with the Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego for a semi-congregate facility that could provide up to 210 beds. That proposal will be voted on Feb 14 by the San Diego Housing Commission. This comes after the announcement to close a smaller city-funded shelter operated by Catholic Charities in Downtown San Diego, which will eliminate 40 beds from the shelter system.
As of now, the city funds 1,630 traditional shelter beds and up to 770 tent spaces in the Safe Sleeping Program.
