Two local homeless housing projects move closer to opening
Article By: Tyler Faurot - San Diego Union Tribune
One of two properties in the Ocean Beach-Point Loma area that are undergoing conversions to provide housing and supportive services to homeless people is about to open, with the other on track to debut early next year.
The two projects are funded as part of California’s Homekey program, which promotes opportunities to provide permanent or interim housing.
A 2024 count tallied 10,605 people countywide without a steady roof over their heads, a slight increase from 2023, and more than 6,100 people who were unsheltered, an 18 percent rise.
Altogether, the two properties will add 75 new permanent housing units.
Here’s a look at both.
The Shores at North Beach
The Shores at North Beach, expected to open at the end of October, is a renovated 13-unit apartment building at 2147 Abbott St. in Ocean Beach.
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It will be operated by Wakeland Housing and Development, a nonprofit that specializes in supportive housing throughout California.
San Diego housing commissioners agreed last year to submit a joint application with Wakeland to use Homekey money to buy the vacant property from the Ocean Beach Community Development Corp. The purchase was completed in May for $4.5 million, with an estimated total cost, including building rehabilitation expenses, of $6.8 million.
Renovations began in June, with new flooring, appliances, smoke and carbon dioxide sensors, and replacement of the exterior fence.
“It’s been a fast project just because we know there is such a need, so we want to get these 13 people in,” said Rebecca Louie, Wakeland’s president and chief executive.
Last year, Louie said the units were “basically habitable.” The building is zoned for use as low-income housing and previously was the site of several housing programs.
Shelly Parks, president of the Ocean Beach Community Foundation (formerly the Ocean Beach Town Council), called the current housing project “social care with dignity.”
“The OBCF expects OBceans to welcome our new neighbors who live at The Shores at North Beach,” Parks said. “They are part of the fabric of this community that we all love so much.”