Giving up hope on ‘Hope @ Vine’: San Diego abandons 1,000-bed shelter plan

Updated, Feb. 10, 5:30 p.m.: The San Diego City Council requested officials explore what it would take to transform a private, unnamed property on Second Avenue in downtown into a long-term shelter for unhoused residents. The Monday action follows Mayor Todd Gloria’s announcement last week that the city was going to pivot away from his plan to create a 1,000-bed shelter near the airport and pursue other options for permanent shelter, detailed in the story below. Gloria and his staff presented three properties up for consideration, two of which are city owned. In addition to selecting the privately owned property, council members asked staff to explore ways to expand the number of beds run by Veterans Village of San Diego.

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One of the main proposals to permanently increase homeless shelter capacity in San Diego is being tossed out.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced Friday the city is abandoning his “Hope @ Vine” plan, which included leasing and converting a warehouse near the San Diego International Airport into a 1,000-bed shelter.

“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.

“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.”

On Monday, Gloria and his staff are scheduled to present the City Council with other options to permanently expand shelter capacity, including three recommendations.

“Getting people off the streets and out of the riverbed and canyons is not optional,” Gloria said in a statement. “That is why we are continuing to push forward with real solutions, identifying new sites and taking the necessary action to bring more people indoors.”

The vast majority of San Diego County’s unhoused residents live in the city, where emergency shelter remains elusive. On any given day, the city’s entire shelter system can reach capacity by noon. Nearly 90% of requests for shelter are denied.

Much of the city’s shelter system is propped up on short-term deals, and officials anticipate losing about 1,100 indoor and outdoor options in the near future. Gloria had hoped the Kettner and Vine warehouse would become the city’s first ever permanent shelter.

This latest development follows months of back-and-forth between Gloria and the City Council over his controversial proposal.

Last summer, the council delayed the deal citing concerns about costs and obligations over the term of the 30-year lease. And at a budget meeting in December, as officials grappled with a looming budget crisis, several council members expressed surprise and frustration when Gloria’s office proposed annual funding for 1,000 new shelter beds under “planned commitments,” costing roughly $33 million every year.

All of this is happening in the face of a quarter-billion-dollar deficit. Gloria didn’t give specific details Friday on why the city backed away from the Kettner and Vine shelter proposal. The city had been in negotiations with the property owner.

“Given the location, size, and flexibility, this location was the preferred choice,” officials wrote in a staff report, adding they have since decided to pivot to other solutions.

Now, Gloria and city staff are asking the City Council to point the way, offering up three recommendations and 20 other options to consider. 

The recommendations include converting:

• City office space for $45.2 million.
• Old Central Library for $86.8 million.
• Mixed-use development downtown for an unknown amount.

Officials managed to avert a crisis at the end of last year by transitioning people out of shelters that were set to close and into alternative indoor and outdoor options. But the demand for shelter remains high.

The temporary nature of the city’s shelter system makes it hard to do business, officials said in a staff report. It’s not helpful for people trying to access services, creates uncertainty in the system and increases costs with constant relocation.

Gloria and his team plan to take another shot at a permanent option Monday afternoon.