5 Cities Homeless Coalition drops Grover Beach church bid in favor of new Pismo project
After months of searching, 5 Cities Homeless Coalition has finally found a new home for an affordable housing complex that is part of its sweeping plan to address homelessness in South County.
On Tuesday, 5 Cities Homeless Coalition and Peoples’ Self-Help Housing announced they have finalized the purchase of a lot at 855 4th St. in Pismo Beach where they plan to build 50 units of affordable housing and a community center.
The site will feature full-time on-site property management, according to the news release, and will be managed by Peoples’ Self-Help Housing.
“The 4th Street project is a terrific example of how when the community pulls together, local solutions can be found to address our deepening housing crisis,” Peoples’ Self-Help Housing CEO John Fowler said in an email statement to The Tribune. “It took the collective efforts of many, many people to bring this about and I couldn’t — on behalf of all our neighbors in need, those patiently waiting for an affordable place to live — be happier with this result.”
The 1.2-acre property cost $2.95 million to purchase, according to Gillian Cole-Andrews, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing’s director of communications.
The groups used some of the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) grant funding they secured in April to help pay for the purchase, she said.
What happens with the Hillside Church property?
With the purchase of this land, the two groups are also dropping their controversial bid for the Hillside Church property, where 5 Cities Homeless Coalition had hoped to build a homeless services hub, including the affordable housing complex.
Neighbors hotly contested the proposed project, saying it wasn’t an appropriate fit for a residential neighborhood. Despite that, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved allocating $2.6 million in HEAP funding to the project in April.
After that, the project lingered in litigation limbo, however, due to confusion over who actually owns the property.
On Tuesday, 5 Cities Homeless Coalition executive director Janna Nichols said the group is canceling its purchase of the church property.
“Securing a site to develop the sorely needed permanent supportive housing that we envisioned now allows us to complete most of the components of our HEAP application,” Nicols wrote in an email to The Tribune. “Given the uncertainty of the Hillside Church ownership and anticipated lengthy litigation, we made the decision to move forward with the project at multiple locations.”
On Sept. 10, 5 Cities Homeless Coalition announced it bought a new office space in Grover Beach from which it planned to offer services, including an expanded program for homeless youth and young adults.
Now the group is just looking for a place for its winter warming center, which provides shelter to homeless individuals during storms and cold weather.
Nichols said 5 Cities Homeless Coalition would like to open the winter warming center by Nov. 1, but has so far been unable to find a location for it.
“Community support to help make that happen is greatly appreciated,” she said.
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