An industrial building that once was part of the Kodak photo processing network will house 190 homeless as Manteca’s permanent navigation center.
The cost and extent of the project at 555 Industrial Park Drive was outlined in an environmental assessment required by the federal Housing and Urban Development completed last month.
The assessment was needed as the project will be paid for in part by $3,031,346 in HUD funds from various agency programs, including funding allocated to San Joaquin County that the Board of Supervisors committed to Manteca.
The overall $18.5 million cost includes $12.9 million for design and construction, $2.1 million for the purchase of the 56,000-square-foot building and accompanying 4 acres, and $475,000 for equipping the kitchen and other furnishings.
The remaining amount covers construction program management, inspection and agency fees, upgrade PG&E facilities and such.
The city will not be spending local taxes on the purchase, remodel, and furnishing of the former Qualex building.
That is due to the successful efforts of Mayor Gary Singh, working in concert with former State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman to secure a $16 million State of California grant.
The city has $21 million in hand of state and federal funding for the project.
Originally, the plan was to build a new homeless navigation facility where the city will break ground next year on a new police station in the 600 block of South Main Street.
The city is exploring the possibility of building a library/community center/performing arts venue on four acres immediately north of where the police station is being built.
New construction was advised by a previous city hall administration as being less costly but no construction experts were obtained to make such an assessment.
Current City Manager Toni Lundgren questioned that assumption.
As a result, the City Council is now moving forward with remodeling the Qualex structure with space to address needs into the foreseeable feature at a cost that is roughly 40 percent less than new construction.
The navigation center project work will get under way in the coming months.
It also will include eight transitional housing units on site.
The city currently operates an emergency shelter in portable dorms with 75 beds overall in the parking lot at the 555 Industrial Park Drive site.
The navigation center, just like the emergency shelter, will have wrap-around services aimed at getting the homeless off the streets and into housing.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
