A proposal to turn an empty warehouse near the San Diego airport into one of the nation’s largest homeless shelters had many critics.
The Independent Budget Analyst said leasing the property might divert money from other needed services. The City Attorney’s Office worried about legal risks. A large crowd of residents decried the idea for hours last summer at a public meeting that ended with skeptical council members indefinitely delaying a final decision.
One of the plan’s few vocal fans was Mayor Todd Gloria. On Friday, his office announced that he was moving on.
“After a year of negotiations and multiple hearings, we have come to the conclusion that the proposed homeless shelter campus at Kettner and Vine can no longer advance,” Gloria said in a statement. Instead, staffers on Feb. 10 will present to the City Council alternative properties as possible shelters, including an unnamed privately owned spot on Second Avenue as well as the Old Central Library and the City Operations Building, both of which are downtown.
“While I continue to believe the proposed shelter at Kettner and Vine was the best and most cost-effective option for a permanent shelter program, I remain firm in my commitment to expand shelter” Gloria added. “Getting people off the streets and out of the riverbed and canyons is not optional.”
Thousands of residents are estimated to spend each night in tents, cardboard and vehicles, and there are nowhere near enough beds for everybody asking. In recent months, only around 1 out of every 10 requests for a spot in a traditional shelter succeeded, largely because most facilities are full, according to the San Diego Housing Commission.
The empty warehouse at Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street in the Middletown neighborhood is owned by San Diego businessman Doug Hamm.
“While I’m disappointed in this outcome, I’m proud of the thoughtful effort we put forward,” Hamm said in a statement. “‘Hope at Vine’ was an ambitious idea grounded in a genuine desire to do what’s best for both the property and the neighborhood.”
He thanked city staffers for their “energy, diligence, and professionalism” during negotiations.