Latest news with #SoutheastStrong
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Shelter demand remains high as city builds hundreds of affordable units
The city of Bakersfield has hundreds of affordable housing units in the works with some of them opening their doors in the coming months as demand remains high. There are 291 units currently under construction and another 509 in pre-development, according to an update presented to the Homelessness Committee on Tuesday, with the units under construction expected to be completed by the end of the year. Officials are planning to celebrate the opening of 85 units at the Renaissance at Baker next month and a 60-unit development on Auburn Street hopes to start housing people in November. Yet demand at local homeless shelters remains high, and the length of stay at the city's Brundage Lane Navigation Center has grown since the facility opened its doors, according to Theo Dues, program manager with Mercy House, the organization that operates the center. "When we opened our doors four and a half years ago the average length of residency was 90 days. It's now closer to 190 days," Dues said. "And that's just a reflection of the available housing options for these folks." The center is averaging 289 people a week with a capacity of 299, according to city data, with most people staying between eight and 30 days. The center has about 30 people who have stayed at the shelter for more than a year, Dues said, with those being the most difficult people to place into housing. City Councilmen Andrae Gonzales and Larry Koman asked if there are additional measures that could be taken to place those people, or other transitional housing they could be moved to. "I don't know how to abbreviate that time in some cases. It's just that there are some barriers with some individuals that make it really really tough," Dues said. "The real problem isn't on the shelter and it's on that, it's on the housing, and we just don't have sufficient placement outcomes for the folks." Gonzales said he'd like to have additional conversations about how to reduce the number of long-term stays at the shelter. "I don't think it's an appropriate place for people to be beyond, I mean, beyond even six months," Gonzales said. "But I know as a practical matter, that's a reality." The hundreds of units of affordable housing the city has in the works are only possible through a combination of funding sources — namely state and federal grants — and the city had to shelve a 51-unit project that failed to secure state funding. "City staff applied for a grant for local housing trust funds through the state of California and we just received word this past week that we were not awarded those funds," said Jennifer Byers, the city's economic and community development director, referring to a project on Niles Street. "Without that funding, housing authority doesn't feel they can move forward with that project and is releasing it for now," Byers said. Also currently in flux is $7 million for a new Senior Center on 4th Street, one of the project's in the city's Southeast Strong initiative. That money was allocated as a community project funding grant — formerly known as an earmark — but those projects were not included in the continuing resolution passed by Congress earlier this month. "They were hoping to start construction of the Senior Center project within the next couple months as well," Byers said. "Without that earmark, it's a struggle." The project is likely still eligible for funding, Bakersfield City Manager Christian Clegg said, but officials may have to reapply. "The funding is probably there," Clegg said. "It just is a hurdle because it was approved and now has to get reapproved." The current senior center building on 4th Street has a number of structural problems, so many that Executive Director Lili Parker has told the city not to make certain repairs, anticipating the building's demolition. Parker told The Californian on Tuesday she hadn't been notified of any changes to the construction schedule, and still anticipated to be out of the building by the end of the year. "I'm still looking at being out of here no later than October, construction is set to begin in January and demolition will probably take place in December," Parker said. "At this point I have not been advised of any changes to our timeline."
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bakersfield's ‘Southeast Strong initiative' nearly impacted by federal funding cuts
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink federal funding is sending shockwaves to communities across the country including those in Kern County. Federal grants fund projects in Bakersfield, such as the Southeast Strong initiative, to rebuild and revitalize one of Bakersfield's poorest communities. 'We have been notified from the federal government that, that was one of the projects on their initial lists to be looked at, but there has been a court injunction put in place that does not allow the federal government to stop those funds from going forward,' said Christian Clegg, Bakersfield's city manager. On March 6, a Rhode Island judge blocked the Trump Administration's cutbacks, securing federal funds for 22 states and the District of Columbia. California kept grant funds for local projects. Firefighters put out fire to hangar at Tehachapi Airport The Southeast Strong Initiative is funded by a $22 million state grant, as well as a grant through the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which adds an additional $20 million. Eight projects in the initiative were funded by the EPA national grant, from installing solar panels on the Friendship House Community Center to road projects like 4th and P street improvements and Safe Routes to School improvements, to community outreach and workforce development. Clegg said the city is moving swiftly on these projects while the injunction is in place. 'We're trying to move quickly to do as much as we can on that project,' said Clegg. 'But importantly, that state funding we do not anticipate to be at risk.' That state funding is putting in place one of the most expensive projects in the initiative: rebuilding and revitalizing the Bakersfield Senior Center. The 50-year-old building is going to be torn down and completely built up with multiple floors. 'Affordable housing for seniors, as well as also provide services and programs for our seniors,' said Lilli Parker, the center's executive director. There are also cottages being built next to the center for affordable housing, 'If you can beautify an area, everything changes, so those are just some of the few changes that's going to occur,' said Parker. If grant funding is taken away, Clegg explained how the city will manage. 'We'll look for other grants to fund them, and if not, it would just take a lot longer time that we can slowly fit those into our annual road projects,' said Clegg. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
