Mayor Todd Gloria on Thursday proposed converting a warehouse in the Middletown area north of Little Italy to house up to 1,000 homeless individuals.
If approved by the City Council, the plan would create the city’s largest homeless shelter in a 65,000-square-foot building located at Kettner Boulevard and Vine Street, just west of Interstate 5.
Gloria also announced that if the Middletown plan is approved, another location that has stirred controversy — the old H Barracks west of the airport — would be slated for a safe parking area for individuals living in their vehicles rather than a shelter.
“We now have a historic and monumental opportunity to get more than 1,000 people off the streets and connected with the services needed to end their homelessness,” said Gloria at a morning press conference.
“Substantially increasing our shelter capacity will have an immediate impact as we work on the other aspects of our comprehensive approach to ending homelessness, including prevention and the creation of affordable housing,” he said.
Gloria said the owner of the building has agreed to a 35-year lease, with two five-year renewal options. The city would add showers and additional restrooms, a commercial kitchen, laundry facilities, and dining and recreation areas.
Like other city shelters, the Middletown one would offer on-site security, meals, housing navigation and case management services.
The building improvements and shelter operations would be funded through a combination of local, state and federal funds, along with significant contributions from local donors through the San Diego Foundation.
“San Diego Foundation believes our region’s homelessness crisis requires big ideas and bold solutions,” said Mark Stuart, president and CEO of the nonprofit. “The opportunity to house up to 1,000 individuals and families in a safe, secure space with supportive services is a huge win for all San Diegans.”
The change in strategy for the H Barracks follows what Gloria termed “months of engagement with the surrounding neighborhoods” and settlement of a legal challenge to the city’s Vehicle Habitation Ordinance.
“Additional safe parking is a need that’s especially evident in the Peninsula area and other coastal communities, where numerous oversized vehicles park along streets in commercial and industrial areas,” he said.
If approved by the council, the Middletown location will be the 11th new overnight facility for homeless that the city has opened since Gloria took office in December 2020.