Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Sacramento Wants To Turn A Low-Income Downtown Hotel Into A Homeless Shelter

  •  Bob Moffitt 
Thursday, April 18, 2019 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

A homeless tent site on the American River Parkway.

Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

A hotel in downtown Sacramento could be turned into a temporary homeless shelter by the end of the year.

The 90 residents at the Capitol Park Hotel would be forced to move.

The hotel, at L and Ninth streets, is currently a single-room occupancy dwelling where residents pay around $500 for a room and a shared bathroom. Under a proposal set to go in front of City Council this Tuesday, it would be converted into a temporary homeless triage shelter, and then later would have its 180 rooms remodeled into 134 permanent supportive-housing units.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg has tasked each council member to identify a location for a homeless shelter in their district, but Councilman Steve Hansen, whose district includes Midtown and downtown, said doing so wasn’t easy — until he learned about the hotel.

“We looked at several locations for potential sprung shelters or buildings that could be acquired,” Hansen said. “Ultimately, a lot of those sites weren't up for sale, or didn't have the infrastructure we needed ... and it became a challenge to find the perfect site.”

Hansen says that when affordable-housing nonprofit Mercy Housing announced it was buying the Capitol Park Hotel, he saw a window of opportunity to transition it into a shelter and, after, a low-income housing hotel with larger rooms and a kitchen.

A hotel resident who identified himself only as Bart says he's seen this type of situation before: He lived at the nearby Hotel Berry and was moved out of that building, too, when it was remodeled.

"I was shown five different apartments, either in Citrus Heights or West Sacramento,” recalled Bart, who says he pays $575 at the Capitol Park Hotel. “I live in downtown because I want to live in downtown. I've been in this building for 11 years now."

Irene Henry, who currently owns Capitol Park Hotel and once owned the nearby Royal Hotel, confirmed that she is in contract with Mercy Housing to sell. At first, she thought the hotel, plus the cafe and the corner store on its ground floor, which she also owns, would have until next year to vacate the property. But now she thinks they might be forced to move out within months.

"We didn’t put the hotel up for sale. Mercy Housing approached us. I’m getting up in age, and we decided, ‘OK, we’re going to go ahead and do this,’ with a clean, clear contract with Mercy Housing and all of a sudden the city gets involved and it's like turmoil right now,” she said.

Henry says she feels the city is targeting her properties. “We had the Marshall Hotel. The city worked against us. We had the Royal Hotel. The city worked against us. Now, this,” she said.

George Green lives in her hotel and says he's open to the idea of moving — depending on the new location.

He says he wants to be near “transportation, shopping areas where you can to stores conveniently, because when you're older you've got to do those things.”

“It's not like when you were younger — ‘Well, I'll get on my bike and ride down the street or run down to the corner’ — it's not like that when you get to our age,” Green added.

La Shelle Dozier with the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency says Mercy Housing has a relocation unit that can help people like Green. "A consultant will sit down with each hotel resident and will work to find a place they can afford in a place they like,” she said.

City Council will vote on whether to lend Mercy Housing $13 million to buy the building, with a guarantee the money would be paid back from a mix of state mental health funding and tax credits.

The city would operate the shelter for 18 months, in addition to a shelter at Cal Expo’s parking lot, for two years. It will use $16 million in Measure U sales tax revenue to pay for operations.

Steinberg supports the program, which he says would get the city closer to his goal of 800 temporary, triage shelter beds for homeless people. He applauded city council members for working to meet his goal of at least one such shelter in each council district.

"If I had the magic wand, I would build it all in one day,” Steinberg said. “That's not the way that it works. But we, my colleagues, are taking the challenge seriously, and they're coming forward with ideas that are workable, and we're building up to that number of beds that I think will be necessary."

The hotel would bring number of sites in the city identified as triage shelters to three, joining the Cal Expo site and another near Alhambra Boulevard and W Street. An announcement about an additional South Sacramento location is expected in the coming weeks.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    Related Stories

  • Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

    No Water, No Garbage Pickup: Some Of The Complaints As Capitol Park Hotel Is Transformed Into A Homeless Shelter

    Thursday, September 19, 2019
    Some of the people who live and work at the Capitol Park Hotel say they are suffering while the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency turns it into transitional homeless housing.
  • Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

    Debate Over Homeless Shelter In South Sacramento Divides City Officials, Residents

    Wednesday, August 14, 2019
    A proposed shelter site near Meadowview Road has support from Mayor Darrell Steinberg, but opposition from district Councilman Larry Carr.
  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    Three New Sites For Homeless Shelters Under Consideration At Sacramento City Hall

    Tuesday, March 26, 2019
    One is on the border of Midtown near Alhambra Boulevard, another is on Florin Road, and the City Council approved a third, at Cal Expo, this Tuesday.
  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    Where Will The Next Sacramento Homeless Triage Shelters Be Located?

    Monday, January 28, 2019
    Each of the eight city council members in Sacramento has been asked to identify possible sites for homeless triage shelters in their districts.

 homelessness

Bob Moffitt

Former Sacramento Region Reporter

Bob reported on all things northern California and Nevada. His coverage of police technology, local athletes, and the environment has won a regional Associated Press and several Edward R. Murrow awards.  Read Full Bio 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More Stories

Mahmoud Illean/AP

Is it time for a reality check on rapid COVID tests?

January 22, 2023

Aaron Kehoe/AP

Mass shootings can be contagious, research shows

January 24, 2023

Rich Ibarra / CapRadio

California to expand pest-detecting dog teams with $4 million in federal funding

January 24, 2023

Most Viewed

California coronavirus updates: Homeless 'point-in-time' count in Los Angeles continues its second year after pandemic

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Behind The I-80 Castle: A Drag-Racing, Beauty School Mogul’s Dream House

California coronavirus updates: Millions of Americans may soon lose access to Medicaid as continuous enrollment ends in March

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

California coronavirus updates: Homeless 'point-in-time' count in Los Angeles continues its second year after pandemic

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Behind The I-80 Castle: A Drag-Racing, Beauty School Mogul’s Dream House

California coronavirus updates: Millions of Americans may soon lose access to Medicaid as continuous enrollment ends in March

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.