City unveils second phase of navigation center to combat homelessness

Three years after purchasing 3.6 acres of industrial land off McCarthy Road with the hopes of creating a facility that would make a significant difference in the lives of unhoused residents, city officials and government leaders from the county and state officially opened the last phase of the project known as the Palm Springs Navigation Center on Monday.

The moment was marked with a ribbon cutting that celebrated the completion of the second phase of the project — modular units of safe, secure housing for clients of the facility. The event drew a large crowd, with Palm Springs, Riverside County, and state officials delivering speeches, including key participants in making the project a reality.

Hafska Kaka, senior advisor on homelessness for the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose office contributed $29 million toward the project, was among the speakers in attendance that discussed the impact of this project on the community and the state.

“This is a momentous day in the city of Palm Springs,” City Manager Scott Stiles told the crowd. “The second phase of the much needed and long anticipated Palm Springs navigation center is finally complete. We are incredibly excited to celebrate with all of you today as we show off this spectacular project, which I absolutely know will be a role model for other cities to follow as we work to find solutions to addressing homelessness.”

The project, which has been in development and planning for seven years, will offer low barrier transitional housing with critical “wraparound services” such as mental health support, job training, life skills education, case management, transportation, education, and assistance with applying for health insurance and other benefits. In the end, the goal is to facilitate housing navigation to help residents transition to permanent housing.

Unhoused people will check in at their Early Entry Center, opened earlier this year, and have the option to apply to transition into the navigation center upon an assessment.

The state-of-the-art facilities opened Monday are designed with bright colors and modular rules that blend in with the architecture and design of surrounding neighborhoods, set against the backdrop of the mountains.

The facilities, which will be operated by Martha’s Village and Kitchen, include 80 transitional housing units (with 85 total beds), including studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, a community kitchen, dining room, laundry facilities, green space, playground, dog park (pets are allowed at the facility), and talk of a community garden coming soon.

According to Mayor Pro Tem Ron deHarte, the facility will see 370 residents in one year.

“You take that into next year and the next year and the next year, you look at the thousands of people that we’re going to be able to support and assist in this facility right here,” deHarte said Monday. “So, all the input, all the investment, all the time and energy that came from our elected officials, we get to see that return on investment.”

State legislators, including Assemblyman Greg Wallace, praised the city’s leadership and commitment to addressing homelessness, which they hope can be replicated elsewhere. The speakers highlighted the strong partnership and cooperation between the city of Palm Springs and Riverside County in making this project happen.

“This goes to show how Democrats and Republicans can work together and bring social change and bring social justice to our community,” said Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, calling on everyone in attendance to join the fight for social justice in the community and adding that the goal is to bring one of these facilities to each city in Riverside County.

After an hour of speeches, city officials cut the ribbon to the facility amid much applause and the crowd broke up to take individual tours.

Greg Rodriguez, deputy director of Government Affairs and Community Engagement, Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions, was a key player in the project. He became emotional during his speech, referring to the facility as his and Councilmember Christy Holstege’s baby.

In October 2021, city staff first recommended purchasing the property at 3589 McCarthy Rd. which now houses the navigation center. At the time, officials hoped that the 47,000 square feet of usable space on 3.6 acres of industrial land could be turned into the type of facility on display Monday for roughly $12 million, including a $6 million purchase price.

Approval from the Palm Springs City Council to pursue the land purchase came in November 2021. An agreement with Martha’s Village & Kitchen to help operate the facility followed, as did the hunt for funds to complete the project. 

Delays in obtaining construction materials during the pandemic pushed the opening out further than was hoped, and a spike in the cost of those materials drove the price to $40 million, a majority of which comes from county, state, and federal funds.

Rodriguez said the success of opening the facility comes down to the fact that Palm Springs has political will and both a city council and county leaders behind it. He also credited outreach efforts and community involvement in all the details, including the design plan. Finally, he noted the change in priorities and resources post Covid, stating officials might not have been able to do projects like the navigation center a few years ago.

“This is a very personal issue to me,” he said while speaking to The Post. ““I’ve been situationally homeless, as has my sister and one of my sons. I saw what this could be. … We ran into obstacles on funding, and we were able to overcome those. I’ve raised multi millions of dollars from agencies.

“I don’t know how I did it, but I was just intricately involved with city staff on the architectural design and permitting. All the work that goes into something like this, to see it finally come to fruition, is just overwhelming.”

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