Valley West Red Roof Inn May Be Converted To A Home For The Homeless Soon | Photos: Jacquelyn Opalach
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With the ongoing challenge of securing housing for the homeless in our community, the city of Arcata is working with The Dance group and Arcata House partnership (AHP) to convert two Valley West Hotels – the Red Roof Inn and Days Inn & Suites, both on Valley West Boulevard – into accommodations for the homeless.
The proposed projects, said David Loya, director of community development at Arcata, the outpost, will require a zoning change in order to use the land for emergency shelter and will need to be approved by both the town planning commission and Arcata city council. If approved, this project would provide around 130 rooms for the homeless in Humboldt.
“The challenge we are currently facing with homelessness is unprecedented,” Loya said Tuesday morning in a telephone interview with the Outpost. “This [project] is a relatively simple solution. These buildings are already there. ”
The project would be largely funded by grants from the California Department of Housing and Community Development Homekey program – a nationwide effort that has been built on Project room keyto quickly expand housing for homeless people. Arcata City Council must also approve the grant application before the city can submit the proposal.
The Days Inn & Suites on Valley West Boulevard
If the grant is granted, AHP would buy the Days Inn and provide rooms for the chronically homeless. Darlene Spoor, executive director of AHP, told the Outpost that a person is considered “chronically homeless” if they have been homeless for at least a year and have some type of disability.
Last year, AHP used Project Roomkey’s funds to house the homeless in rooms at the Days Inn and provide them with shelter during the pandemic. However, that program has now ended, Spoor said, and she is committed to creating more housing for those in need.
“I think as we are visibly seeing more people who are homeless, it’s important to know that a large part of that is because we don’t have apartments,” Spoor told the Outpost. Community support will be vital for us so that we can help. The biggest question I get is, “Will this bring more homeless people to Valley West?” And I say ‘they are already there.’
Supplemented by funds from the Homekey grant, Danco would buy the Red Roof Inn and give some rooms to the chronically homeless and others to other homeless people. Danco will be doing some minimal construction on the hotel – including remodeling the rooms and removing the swimming pool, which is expensive, difficult to maintain and could pose potential liability issues.
Of course, converting the hotels into apartments would have at least a small financial impact on the city, as the temporary occupancy tax would be eliminated. But Loya said the sacrifice was worth it. “In return, we get the chance to provide housing for our homeless community,” he said.
To collect community feedback on these proposed projects, Danco and Arcata House Partnership will host two public meetings on Wednesday December 1st to share information about the project. The first meeting will take place at noon in the Arcata House Partnership parking lot – 4677 Valley West Boulevard – and is specifically aimed at residents affected by homelessness. Loya told the outpost that the meeting was open to all members of the public, but the main purpose of the meeting was to get input from the people the project would serve. A free lunch is served and socks and warm clothes are distributed to those in need.
So that other community members can find out more about the projects and provide their feedback, a public meeting about Zoom will take place on Wednesday, December 1st at 2 p.m. this link, or with the meeting ID 863 2854 5516.
The public will also have the opportunity to comment on the project when it is presented to the Planning Commission on Tuesday 14 December and at the Arcata City Council meeting on Wednesday 15 December.
While Loya doesn’t know exactly how long the whole process will take, he hopes that, assuming the council approves the project and grant application, the projects can be up and running by summer 2022.
“The sooner the better,” said Loya. “[This housing] is something our church desperately needs. But it just doesn’t go fast enough. ”
Further information on the project can be found on the city of Arcata website.
