Overview: The Riverside City Council in California rejected a $29.7 million affordable housing project that would have converted a Quality Inn into permanent supportive housing units for people with mental health or substance abuse issues. The project received a $20.1 million grant from the state government and $9 million in federal funds. The council’s decision has led to disappointed constituents and possible lawsuits from the Southern California ACLU and the property seller. Residents have argued that the project is necessary to address homelessness in the city and that without it, there is no comparable solution.
Aryana Noroozi
At a February 10th Riverside City Council meeting, residents continued to show support for a state and federally-funded affordable housing project that was rejected by Riverside City Council in a 4-3 vote on January 13th. Many spoke with contempt towards their councilmembers who voted against the project, while others took an empathetic approach to plead a reconsideration.
The $29.7 million project – proposed by Riverside Housing Development Corporation and named University Terrace Homes – received one of five Homekey+ awards announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in December for a $20.1 million grant, with an additional $9 million passing through federal funds.
The project planned to convert the Quality Inn in Downtown Riverside at 1590 University Avenue, from 114 motel rooms into 94 permanent supportive housing studio units for people navigating documented mental health or substance abuse. These units would remain affordable for 55 years.
As the deadline to reconsider the project came and went on February 10, the Riverside City Council faced not only disappointed constituents but also two possible lawsuits from the Southern California ACLU and the property seller.
“In business, they say, don’t leave money on the table. That’s what we’re doing here,” said resident Chris Lovekin during public comment. “This money will go to some community, but it won’t be Riverside.”
The ACLU wrote a letter to the City Council at the beginning of the month, with a request that the City reconsider its position in light of its legal obligations under its Housing Element and fair housing laws. The organization stated that stereotypes led to this violation.
“When public decisions about housing our most vulnerable neighbors become entangled with private negotiations and economic pressure, we risk losing our moral center,” said Luke Lopez, a Riverside resident during public comment. “Unhoused people are discussed, not as neighbors to be cared for, but as leverage in a transaction.”
According to the Raincross Gazette, the property seller is alleging wrongful interference with the sale after nearby property owners, the Bailey family of Riverside, who owns the newly opened Farm House Collective and are some of the strongest opposers of the project, tried to purchase the hotel themselves in an email exchange where they shared that they “could envision it being turned around to a nice boutique hotel on University Avenue.”
This came after the seller warned that the condition of homelessness, drugs and prostitution would only stay the same or increase if the Quality Inn was not sold and demolished for the project.
“Housing First is not a naive or careless approach. It is rooted in evidence, experience and a moral conviction that stability must come before transformation,” Lopez said.
Other residents noted that without the project, there is no comparable solution.
“This project aims to lift [people] off the streets of Riverside… for them, your decision is life or death,” said resident Denise Stottleback. “Absent this project, there’s nothing in the wings to replace it… time is of the essence. Lives are on the line.”