The city and county are set to seek roughly $12 million in state homeless housing funds after key votes this week.
County supervisors on Tuesday voted to submit a joint city-county application for state Project Homekey funds to back a 40-unit supportive housing project in El Cerrito and to pledge $11 million in county money to support capital, services and operating costs for the facility.
City housing commissioners also unanimously supported the application at a special meeting Monday.
Future Housing Commission and City Council votes are expected later this year if the city and county are awarded state money.
The votes on the application came just days before the state’s May 2 deadline for the latest crush of Project Homekey funds meant to bolster statewide efforts to house homeless Californians. The application came together months after the region missed an initial deadline for roughly $61 million reserved for the San Diego region.
Affordable housing developers previously told Voice that the state initiative’s required quick construction turnaround and market changes since the program’s 2020 debut stymied potential projects. A Housing Commission executive said during Monday’s meeting that Mayor Todd Gloria’s office and city housing officials are now discussing those deadline challenges with the state in hopes of having more options in the program’s next funding round, which is expected to kick off this summer.