Vacaville staff update council on plan to convert Quality Inn into 85-unit Homekey permanent supportive housing

Vacaville City Council received a status update Jan. 14 on a proposed Homekey conversion of the Quality Inn at 1050 Orange Drive into studio permanent supportive housing that would deliver 86 units (one manager unit and 85 units for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness).

The proposal, presented by Tamara Golden, Vacaville housing and community services director, and Panit Margaba, CEO of California Supportive Housing (CSH), would convert the hotel into studio units and apply for state Homekey funds. Golden told council staff would not request an allocation of permanent local housing allocation (PLHA) funds until the Jan. 28 meeting and that the city is preparing a funding agreement for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds previously set aside for homeless housing.

Why it matters: converting existing hotels into permanent supportive housing has been a major statewide strategy to house people experiencing homelessness quickly; the City would use a mix of state Homekey funds, ARPA capital match and philanthropic sources, and the Vacaville Housing Authority would provide project-based vouchers to support operations.

CSH described its experience with hotel conversions and its proposed team for the project, saying the group recently led large Homekey-funded projects in the Bay Area. Margaba said CSH’s approach includes community focus groups and partnership with coordinated-entry providers. “We have put together an exceptional team,” Margaba said, noting CSH’s prior awards and recent work in Oakland.

Project details in staff materials and the presentation include: - Planned conversion: 86 total units (85 units for people who are homeless or at risk, plus one on-site manager unit). - Unit set-asides proposed for the Homekey application: 30 units for veterans, 25 units for transitional-aged youth (ages 18–25), and 30 units for other individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness; the developer and staff said the mix is proposed to make the application more competitive under the Homekey Plus NOFA but is not final. - Estimated acquisition and rehabilitation cost: about $25,600,000. - Funding plan cited in the presentation: approximately $21,800,000 expected from Homekey, roughly $2,000,000 of ARPA city capital previously set aside for homeless housing, and about $1.8 million from philanthropic sources, according to staff. - On-site staffing proposed: an on-site manager unit plus supportive-services staff (including an on-site supervisor, two support-service coordinators), 1.25 FTE maintenance and three on-site security/help-desk staff; the Vacaville Housing Authority would supply 85 project-based vouchers to the project.

Council members and members of the public pressed for greater local coordination and clearer targets. Councilmember Dr. Sarah Chapman asked whether transitional-aged youth should be housed in the same building as veterans and older adults, saying she was concerned about mixing those populations in close quarters. Golden and CSH staff replied the Homekey Plus NOFA includes set-asides for veterans and transitional-aged youth and that offering those set-asides can make an application more competitive; staff also said the project scope can be adjusted before the application is submitted and that staff would review local PIT (point-in-time) counts and community input to refine unit mix.

Councilmember Stockton and others repeatedly asked about local service providers and Vacaville-specific outreach. Golden said Abode Services and other nonprofit partners would be engaged, and that the Vacaville Housing Authority’s preferences (local resident, veteran, disabled, elderly, working) would apply when vouchers are assigned. CSH and staff said they planned local focus groups and outreach and that they would formalize MOUs with local providers such as Opportunity House, the Family Resource Center and other boots-on-the-ground agencies as the project scope is finalized.

Public commenters also raised concerns about cost and outcomes. Resident Ralph Brown cited state audits and outside analyses and described the per-unit cost as high; other commenters asked how the project would address behavioral health, substance use and whether the city would risk importing nonlocal people into Vacaville. Jason Quintero specifically asked how the project would address addiction and mental health and asked about executive compensation for the developer; staff said those operational details would be defined as the sponsor secures service partners and funding.

Next steps and schedule: staff told council they expect the Homekey NOFA (Homekey Plus) to open at the end of January with applications accepted on a rolling basis through May 2025. Staff said they would return Jan. 28 with a request to allocate PLHA funds to the project, and they will continue to refine the unit mix, service partnerships and a funding agreement for ARPA before submitting an application.

Council direction: Council members generally supported pursuing a regional Homekey application but asked staff and the developer to bring back a revised scope that increases local-provider partnerships, revisits the unit mix (in particular the proportion of veterans and transitional-aged youth), shows detailed service staffing ratios and clarifies transportation and access to health services before the city finalizes its Homekey application.

For now the item was an update; no formal vote on funding or project approval occurred at the Jan. 14 meeting.