Sacramento City Council backs plan to convert Hawthorn Suites to housing for the homeless

The Sacramento Housing Authority will seek $12.5 million in state HomeKey program funding to house the homeless and others following city council approval of the plan this week.

If the funding is granted, the Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Sacramento — at 321 Bercut Drive in Sacramento’s River District — will be renovated and converted into housing for homeless people and workforce housing. Seven council members voted in favor of the plan on Tuesday. Vice Mayor Jeff Harris voted “no” and Councilman Larry Carr abstained.

Some council members objected to the location of the planned conversion. While agreeing that the HomeKey program helps homeless people, Harris said he was voting against the proposal because the River District is already “disproportionately affected by the problems related to homelessness. Try to run a business in the River District, and you will be despondent in no time.

“This is a tough one for me, and I understand completely if my colleagues vote differently from me on this one,” he added. “This is not a NIMBY concern: this is worrying for safety and the well-being and the economic security of a large piece of my district.”

If the California Department of Housing and Community Development approves the application, the HomeKey program would provide $12.5 million to initially convert Hawthorn Suites into interim housing for the homeless and the housing insecure, with the eventual goal to turn it into permanent housing.

The project is estimated to house 106 people who have been homeless or are at risk of homelessness, said Jeree Glasser-Hedrick, Northern California vice president for Jamboree Housing Corp., a statewide affordable housing developer that would purchase and operate the Hawthorn Suites if the conversion funding is granted.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Glasser-Hedrick stressed the importance of the measure, and emphasized the value of the River District location.

“The acquisition and redevelopment of 321 Bercut ... is a pathway to immediately address housing needs and proactively support revitalization in the river district,” she said. “Upon completion, a model community will exist, demonstrating what could be possible when the private sector and the public sector collaborate to address the city’s significant housing shortage.”

The Sacramento Housing Authority filed the application jointly with Jamboree. Jamboree currently operates over 90 developments consisting of more than 8,200 homes across the state and owns Hotel Berry in downtown Sacramento, according to a city council report.

This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 11:38 AM.