Elk Grove moving closer to permanent homeless shelter as council ranks sites
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Council to rank three sites; staff to negotiate purchase and return agreement.
- Survey: Survey Road top choice (42%); 46% prioritized sensitive-use distance.
- Shelter: up to 20 people, four families, five emergency beds; target 2028.
The Elk Grove City Council is poised to rank three potential locations for a permanent homeless shelter during its meeting Wednesday in a project city officials said could open as soon as 2028.
The three proposed locations for the city’s permanent homeless shelter are on Dwight Road north of Laguna Blvd., 9296 E. Stockton Blvd. and the corner of Survey Road and East Stockton Boulevard. The shelter is expected to open in 2028, according to Sarah Bontrager, the city’s housing and public services manager.
After the councilmembers provide their ranked preferences for a site, city staff will be given the green light to negotiate a purchase, according to a city council staff report. They would then bring an acquisition agreement back to the council. The design of the shelter will also take place concurrently with the acquisition process.
“In the event that terms cannot be reached in a timely manner with the top-ranked site, staff will move to the next site in order of preference,” the staff report reads.
The results of an online survey conducted by the city show that 42% of respondents, or 294 people, ranked the Survey Road site as their first choice for the shelter site; 30% of respondents, or 211 people, ranked the East Stockton Boulevard site as their first choice; 27% of those answered the survey, or 191 people, ranked Dwight Road as their first choice.
A separate survey conducted by the city asked residents to rank the priority of factors such as cost and feasibility of the shelter; appropriate distance from sensitive uses such as homes, schools and day care facilities; proximity to supportive services and employment; access to transportation; and safety and security. Forty-six percent of the survey’s 655 respondents ranked “sensitive uses” as their first priority.
The new shelter will be able to house up to 20 people and four families plus five emergency beds. Families will be housed separately from individuals, with separate entrances and common areas. Pets will be allowed at the shelter.
The shelter will be open only to Elk Grove residents or those with deep ties to the city, verified through a vetting process, and who receive referrals from the city’s homeless services navigators or police officers.
The Survey Road and East Stockton Boulevard site would cost between $12 million to $14.5 million, including $750,000 to purchase the site, $1.7 million to $2 million in site development, $7.2 million to $8.5 million in “hard” construction costs and $2 million to $3 million in “soft” costs, such as fees, permits and insurance.
The East Stockton Boulevard site would cost approximately $16 million to $21 million, including $2 million to purchase the site, $4.5 million to $7.5 million in site development, $7.2 million to $8.5 million in “hard” construction costs and $2 to 3 million in “soft” costs.
The Dwight Road site, which contains multiple parcels that could be used for the shelter, would cost approximately $12 million to $21 million, according to NJA Architecture, the firm designing the shelter.
The permanent shelter is expected to cost $1.5 million per year to maintain, according to the staff report.
The city, alongside nonprofit homeless services group the Gathering Inn, currently operates a temporary shelter at 9499 E. Stockton Blvd. in a Cavalry Christian Center building. The lease on that building is set to expire in September 2028.
The temporary shelter has led to a 65% reduction in encampments and transitioned 14 households to permanent housing in its first year of operation, according to the city council staff report.
The 2024 Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness in the county, performed by nonprofit group Sacramento Steps Forward, found 83 people in Elk Grove were unhoused. However, the city says that staff estimates that number to be closer to 100 to 150 people, based on information from the city’s homeless outreach team and the Police Department, claiming one of the lowest rates of homelessness in Sacramento County.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 1:57 PM.
