Fresno Spent $30 Million in State Grants on Motel Conversions and Tiny Homes for People Experiencing Homelessness

The Fresno City Council approved a resolution in December 2021 authorizing the city to apply for up to $30 million in state Homekey Program grants to acquire, renovate, and operate housing for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The resolution covered three projects: the Valley Inn motel at 933 N. Parkway Drive, the Parkway Inn motel at 959 N. Parkway Drive, and a “Tiny Homes” project, according to city staff reports.

The Valley Inn project sought $7.795 million to reimburse the city for acquiring and renovating the motel “earlier this year” — meaning sometime in 2021 — plus $1.26 million to reimburse operating expenses. The Parkway Inn project sought $3.234 million to acquire the property and $1 million in rehabilitation funds to prepare it as interim housing, plus unspecified additional operating expense reimbursement. The resolution does not state what the Tiny Homes project sought or where it would be located.

The material does not state whether the city’s applications were approved, how much money the state ultimately awarded, or whether any of the three projects are currently operating.

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The Breakdown

• The Homekey Program is a California state grant program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, that funds local governments to acquire and convert motels, hotels, and other properties into housing for people experiencing homelessness.
• Round 2 of the program made approximately $1.45 billion available statewide.
• The City of Fresno applied for funding for two motel conversions on North Parkway Drive and an unspecified “Tiny Homes” project.
• The Valley Inn had already been acquired and renovated by the time of the December 2021 council vote; the city sought reimbursement for those costs.
• The resolution was approved by the City Council on December 9, 2021.

What This Means for You

This decision meant the Fresno City Council, elected by you, authorized the city to apply for state grant reimbursement to cover costs of acquiring and operating emergency housing for people experiencing homelessness. If the state grants came through as requested, up to $30 million of state taxpayer money would flow to Fresno for these three projects.

The material does not provide information about the outcomes of these projects or their effectiveness.

What to Watch

The material gives no information about the outcomes of these projects — whether the applications were approved, whether the motels are operating, how many people they house, what the operating costs have been, or what the per-person cost works out to. For $30 million in requested public funds, those are essential questions a voter should be able to answer.

The city sought reimbursement for the Valley Inn after the fact, meaning the city had already committed taxpayer money to acquire and renovate the property before securing the state grant. What happens if the grant application is denied or only partially funded? The material does not say whether the city had a contingency plan.

The material provides no data on whether these properties are functioning as intended, whether residents are transitioning to permanent housing, how long the city expects people to stay, or what plan exists for what comes after interim housing.

The “Tiny Homes” project is mentioned but not described at all — no location, no cost breakdown, no unit count. For a project seeking a portion of a $30 million application, that is a significant omission.

The material does not identify who owned the Valley Inn or Parkway Inn before the city acquired them, or whether any of the rehabilitation or operating contracts went to firms with connections to city officials or campaign donors.