Homeless Families To Be Sheltered At Oakland's Clifton Hall Through Project Homekey
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A miracle on Broadway is ready to receive formerly unsheltered Oakland residents later this month, city officials said Wednesday.
Formerly unsheltered families and seniors will start moving into Clifton Hall at 5276 Broadway, a Project Homekey property, on Dec. 28, Mayor Libby Schaaf and others announced at a news briefing. Project Homekey is a state grant program to protect unsheltered residents who are impacted by COVID-19 and at risk of serious illness.
More than 100 unsheltered residents of Oakland will have either permanent housing or short-term housing in the building, which was once a residence hall on the Oakland campus of the California College of the Arts.
"We have some great holiday news to share," Schaaf told reporters and others at the virtual news conference.
One-third of the residents will be families who will be staying at Clifton Hall while they look for permanent housing. There is no time limit to their stay.
Two-thirds of the residents will be seniors who will have permanent housing at the hall. The seniors will pay no more than 30 percent of their income in rent.
The building is in the city's Rockridge neighborhood, an upscale area that will likely offer opportunities for the residents.
"Clearly our city has a need for additional affordable housing," Councilmember Dan Kalb said.
Clifton Hall is in Kalb's district and he spent time talking to his residents to see if they would welcome the formerly unsheltered Oaklanders.
Neighbors want to provide welcome gifts to the residents, a gesture that was indicative of the neighborhood's response to the project, Kalb said.
"It is awe-inspiring how it happened so quickly," said Susan Friedland, CEO of Satellite Affordable Housing Associates in Berkeley, which is partnering with the city on the project.
Friedland was skeptical that the project could come together in four months.
"It just seemed impossible," she said.
"There ain't no hustle like an Oakland hustle," Schaaf said.
