Riverside considers converting motel into low-income housing

Riverside has asked the state of California’s to help it convert a motel into affordable housing.

The city has requested $35 million in Homekey+ funding to convert the 114-room Quality Inn, 1590 University Ave. into studio apartments, according to a city report.

When the renovation is complete, the former hotel immediately west of Interstate 215 near Chicago and Iowa avenues, will have 20 units of affordable housing and 94 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals or people who are at risk of becoming homeless.

Eighteen units will be reserved for people with mobility issues. All of the units are scheduled to remain affordable for a 55-year period, the report states.

On May 20, the city council voted 4-3 to make the funding request. The project will be called University Terrace Homes.

The 94 units will be for households that earn no more than 30 percent of the median income for that part of Riverside, which is an annual income of $21,500 for one person. The 20 units will be for anyone who makes 50 percent or below the median income annually, which works out to a little less than $36,000 a year.

Tenants will have to sign a 12-month lease. The property will be gated, have around-the-clock security, a social service coordinator, and four case managers. The property manager and maintenance staff will live on the property full-time.

“This is a smart and compassionate investment in the community,” said council member Clarissa Cervantes in a statement. “Safe, stable housing is foundational to public health, neighborhood safety, and opportunity.

Cervantes represents Ward 2, where the project will be located.

About 90 people submitted comments on the project, either online or during the May 20 council meeting, and almost all of them were supportive. Those who weren’t were concerned about the project being built in the wrong place, according to Cervantes.

“They believe it’s a bad location, but it’s really a perfect place for this kind of development,” Cervantes said. “It’s close to the RTA bus lines, and to grocery stores. It’s within walking distance of everything people need.”

Regardless of its location, the project has not been subjected to the review such a proposal would normally receive from the city, said Nicholas Adcock, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.

Based on that, the chamber is opposed to the motel conversion, even though it would normally support such a project, Adcock told the council.

“Up until about two weeks ago, business owners weren’t given a chance to consider how this might affect them,” Adcock said. “I recognize that you’re working on a fast timeline, but this project has not been held to the normal standards of review. The full community hasn’t had a chance to look at it.”

The council also approved a memorandum of understanding that provides approximately a $9 million to the Riverside Housing Development Corp. That funding, which will come from several sources, will be used to acquire, convert and operate the University Avenue site.

Homekey + is an expansion of California’s Homekey program, and is paid for revenue from Proposition 1, which state voters passed narrowly in March 2024.

That vote approved a $6.4 billion in bonds to help build mental health treatment facilities, and provide shelter for homeless people, with an emphasis on assisting veterans. Proposition 1 revenue is meant to convert buildings into affordable housing facilities quickly so they can be used by people in each of those categories.

Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, who cast the deciding vote, emphasized that council’s vote was only a grant request, and not a final approval of the project.

“With a project of this magnitude and impact, we must be thoughtful and cautious,” Lock Dawson said in a statement. “The success of housing initiatives like this one hinges on the details, so we will move forward with care and precision, if funded, to ensure the project is a good fit for the neighborhood and works for everyone.”

Riverside has already identified a need for low-income affordable housing.

As of May 5, there were 307 people on Riverside’s waiting list for permanent supportive housing, including 102 individuals 55 years old or older, and 32 people between 50 and 54 years old, according to the report.

City officials expect know expect by the end August whether or not Riverside will receive the grant. If that happens the city will have one year to convert the hotel into permanent supportive housing. “We have to be able to get the building ready that quickly,” Cervantes said. “That’s a condition for getting the loan.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines as housing and support services made available to help households with at least one member – either an adult or a child – who has a disability or a chronic disease.

Riverside must pay fair market value for the property, which has been established at $35 million. City staff has been scouring the city, looking for any hotels or motels that might be converted into low-income housing, and “five to 10” have been identified as potential sites, according to Cervantes.

Unlike the Quality Inn owner, none of the other motel owners have shown interest in selling, at least for now. Also, not every aging hotel or motel is suited for conversion into permanent supportive housing.

“It’s not easy to find a property that can be reconstructed to accommodate wheelchairs,” Cervantes said.

There is also a misconception about what the project will be when it’s completed.

“A lot of people think this is going to be a homeless shelter, but they’re wrong,” Cervantes said. “It’s going to be for low-income people, veterans, and people with mobility problems. There may be some people who have been homeless who qualify, but it won’t be exclusively for homeless people.”