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Supervisors’ committee forwards $9.35 million operating subsidy for Arlington Hotel to full board
Summary
The committee heard staff and provider presentations and widespread public support for a 15-year Local Operating Subsidy Program grant of $9,354,007 to Mercy Housing to operate supportive housing at the Arlington Hotel; the committee referred the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
The Committee on Government Audit and Oversight on Aug. 1 heard a staff presentation and public testimony supporting a proposed 15-year Local Operating Subsidy Program (LOSP) grant of $9,354,007 to Mercy Housing California to operate formerly homeless single-adult housing at the Arlington Hotel.
Joan McNamara, senior project manager in the mayor's Office of Housing, told supervisors the LOSP helps fill an operating-cost gap for deeply affordable permanent supportive housing, which capital financing alone cannot cover. She said LOSP per-unit operating subsidies typically range from about $6,000 to $11,000 per unit per year, and that the city requires projects to demonstrate twenty-year cash flow to leverage tax credits and other financing. McNamara said the mayor's office had identified 2,958 units targeted to homeless households in the pipeline and projected LOSP program funding of roughly $17 million in 2017 to support nearly 1,500 units.
"Permanent supportive housing, where housing and services are linked, has been proven to be the most effective and efficient way to take chronically homeless persons off the streets," McNamara said.
Tim Dunn, project manager for Mercy Housing, described the Arlington renovation and timeline: construction expected to complete in September 2012, with roughly 80 units available shortly after Labor Day and a total of 153 units once fully occupied. Dunn said LOSP was the final piece that enabled the project to secure other funding, including $10 million in state MHP funds, $12 million in federal ARRA stimulus funds and $840,000 in AHP funds.
Public commenters representing housing providers and tenants urged approval. David Schnoor of Community Housing Partnership called LOSP "a fantastic program" and said the city could not meet its goal of ending chronic homelessness without it. Mara Blitzer of Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and Ken Raggio of Episcopal Community Services described how LOSP funds have allowed their organizations to house formerly homeless people with complex health and behavioral needs. A resident who lives in an SRO described LOSP-funded services as life-changing.
After public comment, President Chiu moved to refer Item 3 to the full Board as a committee report with a positive recommendation; the motion was made on the record and was carried without objection. The item will proceed to the Board for final action.
If approved by the Board, the proposed 15-year LOSP agreement would provide operating subsidy funding for Mercy Housing's management of Arlington Hotel units designated for formerly homeless individuals referred by the Department of Public Health and other service access points.
The committee record shows staff from the Department of Public Health and the Human Services Agency were available to answer questions during the hearing; no amendments to the LOSP term or amount were made during the committee meeting.
