Oakland, CA - The City of Oakland has been awarded $14,266,000 in State of California Homekey funds to develop vacant City-owned land in Deep East Oakland.
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced additional grant awards from the third round of Homekey, the Administration’s initiative to help communities to address the challenge of homelessness by rapidly expanding the availability of housing for at-risk individuals and families. This ninth Homekey award will create 40 new homes in Oakland, bringing the total to 467 deeply affordable units for the unhoused under the program.
The Dignity Village Oakland project will be located at 9418 Edes Ave/606 Clara St. in Deep East Oakland, part of City Council District 7. It will be the first Homekey development to feature new construction on vacant City-owned land. The project will offer 40 permanent supportive housing units for seniors experiencing homelessness and will feature modular units that were constructed off-site and transported to the parcel. Dignity Village will be located one block away from the Brookfield Library, the Ira Jinkins Community Center, and the William Patterson Park, forming a hub of housing and community services. The City of Oakland awarded $6,317,051 to the project in 2023 that facilitated successful leveraging of state funds.
“I want to thank the State of California and Governor Gavin Newsom for their shared commitment to tackling homelessness with this multimillion-dollar investment into new supportive housing for our homeless neighbors,” said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, “Homekey has been an incredible program for our City, helping us secure 467 new units of permanent supportive housing since 2020. This aligns with Oakland’s goals of expanding supportive housing with wrap-around services to get more neighbors off our streets and parks and into safe, dignified conditions.”
“District 7 is thrilled about Oakland’s ninth Homekey award for the Dignity Village, which will provide 40 housing units for neighbors experiencing homelessness. The community has long advocated for a housing development at Clara and Edes. We are grateful for the Department of Housing and Community Development's incredible work to help us prioritize deeper investments in Deep East Oakland," said Treva Reid, Councilmember for District 7. "On Friday, February 16th, Governor Newsom visited District 7 to announce additional Homekey awards, including the grant for this location, and visited areas impacted by blight, crime, and homelessness. We are thankful for the state support, and we will continue to leverage our regional partnerships to prioritize District 7 and keep our residents housed permanently."
“Seniors are the fastest growing demographic amongst unhoused residents,” said Emily Weinstein, Director of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department. “This project will bring much-needed shelter and service supports to our most vulnerable residents in a very short time frame.”
As with all of Oakland’s Homekey projects, there will be a three-pronged structure to ensure the project is successful. DignityMoves and Housing Consortium of the East Bay are co-developing the site, the Housing Consortium of the East Bay will both manage the property and act as the service provider.
"Tragically, seniors represent the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population," said Elizabeth Funk, Founder and CEO of DignityMoves. "We're humbled to partner with the City of Oakland and HCEB on this urgently needed initiative and are working to scale solutions that ensure safety and dignity for valued members of our community."
“HCEB is proud of our partnership with the City of Oakland and DignityMoves,” said Darin Lounds, Executive Director of Housing Consortium of the East Bay. “Forty-one brand new homes will be provided for our older neighbors experiencing homelessness. HCEB is thankful for this opportunity to serve the community and we are thankful for the Homekey program.”
Homekey, administered by California Housing & Community Development, is the state’s renowned program that began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate the purchase and/or rehabilitation of hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings, manufactured homes, and other properties, and convert them into homes for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Homekey projects are part of the City’s approach to address homelessness by innovatively leveraging City dollars to maximize State and Federal investment to create more deeply affordable Permanent Supportive Housing units. With this latest award, Oakland has secured more than $109 million of State Homekey funds since 2020 to house residents experiencing homelessness. The City’s nine awarded Homekey projects will provide a total of 467 deeply affordable units for the unhoused.
Oakland’s other awarded Homekey projects include:
- Clifton Hall, a former dormitory that offers 63 units for seniors and families;
- Inn at Temescal, a repurposed motel with 21 units for veterans;
- Project Reclamation, a series of scattered single-family homes throughout Oakland for families and individuals;
- Piedmont Place, a repurposed motel with 44 units;
- Inn by the Coliseum, a repurposed motel with 36 units;
- Kingdom Builders Transitional Housing, a repurposed motel with 34 transitional units for homeless youth and formerly incarcerated residents; and
- Imperial Inn, a repurposed motel that will bring over 47 permanent supportive housing units.
- Quality Inn, a repurposed motel with 103 permanent supportive housing units for unhoused residents and transitional-aged youth.
The latest Homekey award follows additional awards from the State of California within the past 12 months, including a $40.7 million IIGC award, a $2.39 million grant from the State’s Prohousing Incentive Pilot Program, and a $10 million Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grant.
Homelessness and housing affordability are top priorities for Oakland residents. To address these challenges, the City is carrying out a multi-pronged approach. The Housing and Community Development Department is addressing housing affordability issues through its “3P” framework: Protect Oaklanders from displacement; Preserve the existing affordable housing stock; and Produce new, deeply affordable housing units.
