Converted downtown Sacramento motel offers nearly 100 people safe, permanent homes
Margie Johnson in the lobby of Sacramento Central Studios
Sacramento, CA (Dec. 20, 2023) - Karlmann Gates, 59, grew up in Sacramento and said he has been “pretty much homeless off and on for the last 40 years.” He has spent the past four of those years mostly outside in the River District north of downtown.
Michael Pollard, 66, has been homeless in his hometown of Rancho Cordova off and on for decades, since the first time he left home at 18. Margie Johnson, 67, a mother of eight grown children, has struggled since leaving her husband of 30 years and was most recently bouncing from motel to motel after a stint in the City’s shelter on Fifth Street.
All three of them have now found permanent homes in Sacramento Central Studios, a 92-unit permanent supportive housing complex that opened in November at 1100 H St.
“It’s nice and comfortable — it’s quiet,” said Johnson. She said her Social Security and disability income add up to $1,063 a month, far less than she would need to rent an apartment and cover living expenses.
The City and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency provided $7.4 million in funding for the project, built and managed by affordable housing developer Danco Communities. The State of California provided $23.9 million through its Homekey program.
Each unit has a kitchenette and bathroom. Residents receive services, including life skills coaching. Fifteen of the units were funded by the Mental Health Services Act authored by Mayor Darrell Steinberg when he served in the Legislature. Sacramento County provides mental health treatment to those residents directly.
“I’m so proud to see this project come to fruition,” said Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who represents downtown. “The Central City Studios has surpassed my expectations and is providing much-needed housing to many individuals who had previously been living on the streets of my district. I am proud to have worked with SHRA to champion this project, and want to thank the state for making our dream a reality.”
It’s the third hotel — and the first in the Central City — converted by the City of Sacramento to permanent supportive housing using state Homekey funds. The others are in south Sacramento and North Natomas. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced an award of more than $20 million in Homekey funding to convert the Rodeway Inn at 25 Howe Ave. into 69 units of permanent housing. In addition, Mercy Housing is preparing to open 134 of permanent supportive housing downtown in the former Capitol Park Hotel.
“Projects like Central Sacramento Studios serve the most vulnerable residents of our community who have nowhere else to go, and we will never solve the crisis of unsheltered homelessness in our community, state, and nation unless we find a way to replicate them many times over,” Mayor Steinberg said. “I thank Governor Newsom for making the construction of shelter and housing a major focus of his administration. We are starting to make a difference in people’s lives and the condition on our streets.”
