Before selling the site of a former food pantry to the highest bidder, Santa Rosa wants to see if there's a way to turn the property into low-income housing for veterans.
The City Council on Tuesday will consider transferring ownership of the Benton Street property to the city's Housing Authority to evaluate whether the concept could work for the site, said Nancy Gornowicz, the city's housing director.
Community Housing Sonoma County, a non-profit that develops housing for people with special needs, has proposed housing eight extremely low-income veterans on the third-of-an-acre site, Gornowicz said.
Extremely low-income individuals are defined as those making less than $16,150 per year, and in most cases would be homeless, she said.
The project is still in the formative stage, but the idea is to have one-bedroom apartments around a central courtyard with an onsite manager and supportive care for vets, she said.
The city would donate the property, appraised at $300,000. The building would be demolished.
The city also has $252,000 in housing funds that could be loaned as start-up money for the project, with construction funding coming from Proposition 41, the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014, which is on the June 3 ballot.
If the project doesn't come together by July 31, city staff suggests the property be put up for sale.
The 1930s-era fire station and former community center served as a rent-free home to FISH - Friends in Service Here – from 1995 to 2013. When the cost of deferred maintenance and accessibility upgrades exceeded $350,000, the cash-strapped city declared the property surplus and forced FISH to vacate the building.
The all-volunteer operation has since relocated to 2900 McBride Lane, just south of the Redwood Credit Union headquarters.
Staff Writer Kevin McCallum can be reached at 521-5207 or at kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. Twitter @citybeater
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