California Gov. Gavin Newsom has often touted Homekey as one of his administration’s most ambitious attempts to tackle the state’s notorioushomelessnessand housing crisis.
But the $3.8 billion initiative the Democratic governor launched in 2020 isplagued with a lack of oversightand thousands of homes that still haven’t been finished, according to a damning investigation by CalMatters published Thursday.
Homekey involved giving money to local governments so that they could convert motels and other structures into housing for the homeless.
It was an unprecedented attempt to force cities into the real estate world, where they took everything from inns to sorority houses to a dentist’s office to help solve the state’s housing shortage.
“What we’re doing here today is multiples of what any state in American history has committed to address this crisis of homelessness,” Newsom said at a 2021 press conference.
However, as of last December, around 3,000 homes have not been finished, according todozens of records requests filed by CalMatters. That’s one in five projects that were promised.
Additionally, around 2,000 units still needed to be converted to permanent living, and grants for 500 units were canceled or never appeared.
One of those unfinished projects was a Travelodge motel in Gardena that the city of Los Angeles bought for $9 million. It was estimated it would take $50,000 to start moving people in.
The reality: Five years in and with $3 million sunk, the motel is still vacant, according to CalMatters, as the motel had a bunch of issues with windows, plumbing, and electricity.
Only 60 Homekey projects of the 148 completed ones were finished on time, according to the report’s analysis. The rest came late, while 45 projects are still incomplete.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
