SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A large-scale project aimed at helping Sacramento County’s homeless population has reached its next milestone. On Oct. 22, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved plans to move forward with construction of the Watt Service Center and Safe Stay.

County leaders told FOX40.com they want the center to help homeless people in the immediate area, including North Highlands and Foothill Farms. As the name suggests, the county envisions the center bringing services directly on-site to unsheltered individuals, including behavioral health, long- and short-term stay options and job training.

The Watt Service Center and Safe Stay cost approximately $64 million. That includes $22 million for the 130,000-square-foot warehouse and the 13 acres it sits on, as well as an estimated $44 million for construction inside and outside the facility. ‘warehouse. The land and warehouse were purchased by the county in 2022.

“It’s hard to swallow such a high price and I can tell you that many board members were very skeptical. The acquisition cost and then the construction cost is a big number,” District 3 Supervisor Rich Desmond said.

The county said the $64 million cost is being funded by remaining money from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Parkway Fund. In the long term, the county says the service center will be a less expensive option for helping the community’s homeless, citing a 2017 study of the top 250 users of homeless services.

“I’m talking about health services, law enforcement, firefighters. It costs about $45,000 a year in public money for people living outside in these conditions,” Desmond said.

The county says it can eventually reduce that cost to about $3,600 per person with the service center.

The service center includes:
– 225 beds in secure cabins
– space for 75 people in emergency/weather respite beds
– 50 people for safe parking options

“This will actually be the fourth program that incorporates these secure cabins, these secure sleeping cabins. We call it a safe stay community, but it’s basically a cabin where someone has four walls, a door that they can lock, which gives them privacy and dignity,” Desmond said .

The safe parking option will be Sacramento County’s first safe parking site, intended to be a temporary housing solution while people try to get back on their feet.

“Some of the people who come in and live without their car may already have a job, so that’s why they’re living without their car. Frankly, we hope that some of these people can transition to affordable housing without all the wraparound services,” Desmond said.

Desmond said at present there were no plans to set a deadline for how long people could stay at the center. However, services also depend on people working with the county to find solutions for their specific situation and take advantage of any services provided on site.

Desmond said the county is preparing the center for short- and long-term stay options, approximately three to nine months. Emergency/respite beds for inclement weather and parking options for a secure stay will likely be on the shorter side, while secure stay cabins will be used for longer stays. The service center will also not be a reception shelter, which means that people will have to be referred to services.

According to this year’s point-in-time count, more than 6,600 people have experienced homelessness in Sacramento County, which is a decrease from around 9,200 in 2022. Still, Desmond said the homeless crisis is far from finished.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think homelessness will ever completely go away. I think the plan is that this will last several years. I don’t think it’s going to last forever, but also, with the homeless crisis, I hope we can manage it better because through investments like this it could turn into a more focused crisis on services,” Desmond said.

Once open, there will be an annual operating fee, but how the center will be funded, either through a grant or a general fund or both, has yet to be determined. As for when this center could be used, Desmond told FOX40.com the county is aiming to have it operational by the end of 2025.

Based on how often the county hopes people bike out of the shelter into permanent, affordable housing, it estimates that over 15 years the center will serve about 18,000 people.

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