City to Consider Applying for State’s Homekey Program to Help Fund Affordable Housing

This Tuesday, January 18, at their regularly scheduled meeting, the Fremont City Council will consider a recommendation from City staff to apply for the second round of funding available through the State's Homekey program. The funding would be used to convert the Motel 6 located at 46101 Research Ave. in Fremont to 156 units of permanent affordable housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The Homekey program provides the City with the opportunity to tap into significant State funding to expand affordable housing and help address homelessness in Fremont, which remains a top priority.

Staff will be recommending that the Council authorize a $40.2 million Homekey application to the State's Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). Staff will also be recommending that the Council authorize the City to enter into an agreement with affordable housing developer Shangri-La Industries (SLI) for them to acquire, rehabilitate, and own the Motel 6 Homekey project in Fremont.

In June 2021, City staff issued a request for information/proposals for developers and service providers to partner with the City on a Homekey application. After a thorough review process, a proposal from SLI was selected. In their proposal, SLI identified four potential Fremont hotel properties for conversion to permanent affordable housing for homeless households. Staff and an outside consultant reviewed the properties and evaluated them based on financial feasibility and locational criteria. After careful review, staff selected the Motel 6 site for their recommendation to the City Council.

For more information about the City's Homekey application and this Tuesday's City Council meeting, please view the documents below: