SAN JOSE HOTEL CONVERTED to homeless housing is switching operators, and residents are welcoming the change.
Nonprofit service provider WeHope will take over the Arena Hotel at 817 The Alameda starting Dec. 1 and replace HomeFirst. It will provide case management and temporarily manage the property, security and food until San Jose hires another company to oversee operations across its temporary shelters to centralize services and cut costs. The San Jose City Council last month unanimously approved a $2.7 million contract for WeHope from Oct. 1 through June 30, 2026.
“To bring WeHope in is a great fit. I really like their origin story,” Arena Hotel resident Chris Wess told San José Spotlight. “I’m super excited to see what happens, to see what their first day is going to look like.”
Wess said he expects WeHope will bring needed change for the 97 hotel residents and the surrounding neighborhood. He wants to see people getting housed quicker and have access to more resources. The hotel has had issues since the city converted it into a homeless shelter two years ago. The elevators were constantly broken, residents suffered from food poisoning and HomeFirst’s case managers struggled to meet requests from residents such as providing money for work shoes, according to several residents who spoke to this news organization last year.
Wess, who has lived at the Arena Hotel for more than two years, said case management has continued to be inconsistent and ineffective.
“They’re not finding us housing, we’re just here,” Wess said. “There’s no mandatory (caseworker) meetings. It’s all strictly voluntary.”
HomeFirst spokesperson Fiona Brodie said they turned down the city’s offer to continue operating the Arena Hotel to focus on the Cherry and Cerone tiny home villages set to open by the end of this year. The organization has moved 52 people into permanent housing since the hotel opened in August 2023, and case managers have conducted nearly 6,000 sessions on site, Brodie said.
“HomeFirst is committed to offering consistent, quality case management,” Brodie told San José Spotlight.
San Jose has 6,503 homeless residents, up 237 people from 2023. At the start of the year, about 60% were unsheltered, or 3,959 people.
Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, whose District 6 includes the Arena Hotel, said the issues at the hotel have been a top concern for homeless residents, neighbors and nearby business owners. Neighbors had complained about crime and drug issues they said stemmed from the hotel. The hotel is also just 2 miles from Santa Clara University.
“There was universal agreement that change was necessary,” Mulcahy told San José Spotlight. “I’m grateful to our Housing Department for digging in to understand what wasn’t working, and learning from the experience and feedback to make these informed improvements. I’m encouraged this transition will bring stability for residents and greater peace of mind for the surrounding community.”
Since taking office this year, Mulcahy has discontinued the regular community advisory meetings that gave homeless people living at the hotel and neighboring residents a space to talk about the issues — a time Wess said was necessary to voice concerns and learn what was happening in the city.
A spokesperson for Mulcahy’s office said the meetings consistently failed to produce meaningful results for the hotel residents and surrounding businesses — and the District 6 office has refocused on transitioning service providers and reimagining how the hotel will operate.
Pastor Paul Bains, founder of WeHope, said they intend to go into the situation ready to listen to all parties and bring change where it’s needed.
“I always want to know about the why,” Bains told San José Spotlight. “If something’s successful, I want to know why it’s successful. If it’s not successful, why isn’t it successful? So we will apply that lens to what we are looking at accomplishing, because our goal is to get people housed.”
Bains said the level of case management WeHope provides is what has led to residents getting housed quickly in other locations they operate, including at the Berryessa safe parking site. Since opening in March, it has placed 31 people in permanent housing, Bains said. He intends to have workshops and host events for the Arena Hotel residents and surrounding neighborhood.
WeHope workers will shadow HomeFirst staff for two weeks to aid with the transition. A Housing Department spokesperson said the switch in operators is in line with the city’s strategy to improve services in its shelters.
The Arena Hotel was a $46-million project funded through Measure E — a property tax approved by San Jose voters in 2020 — and California’s Project Homekey. The city received $125.5 million in state funds for five Homekey sites. The long-term plan calls for knocking down the building to construct up to 200 permanent affordable apartments.
“The sad part of the whole situation at the Arena is it hasn’t been run right from the beginning,” homeless advocate Gail Osmer told San José Spotlight. “There’s no accountability for any of these nonprofits when they open any (temporary housing sites). I know WeHope will get in there and straighten it out… and make it a better community for the people living there.”
Contact Joyce Chu ar joyce@sanjosespotlight.com or @joyce_speaks on X.