The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to enter an agreement with the Santa Clara County Housing Authority<\/a>, which will pay the city up to $2.3 million for three years while residents wait for their housing vouchers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a model that strengthens interim housing and provides a clear path for a permanent home for our most vulnerable residents,\u201d Vice Mayor Pam Foley said at the meeting.<\/p>\n The housing authority manages federal housing vouchers and has received these funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Moving to Work program. The program provides flexible funding to design and test innovative housing solutions. Other temporary housing sites utilizing this model include the Willow Street Studios and Pacific Motor Inn<\/a>\u00a0in San Jose.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a bridge from homelessness into that permanent housing, and it does prepare people,\u201d Preston Prince, executive director of the housing authority, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Prince points to how residents at Willow Street Studios have developed relationships with each other before they move into a permanent supportive housing development. Many will move in together, and living in \u201cbridge housing\u201d allows them to develop social connections to help transition into permanent housing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear who will move into the Arena Hotel and what the permanent housing selection process will be. Prince deferred to the county for details, and county representatives weren\u2019t immediately available for comment.<\/p>\n The 90-room Arena Hotel located on The Alameda will continue to be operated by nonprofit WeHope<\/a>. The housing authority\u2019s contribution will offset nearly all of the $2.7 million annual operating expenses, which include food, security and case management. It ties into the city\u2019s plan to cut temporary housing costs<\/a> while it faces a $56 million deficit<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Jose manages more than 2,000 beds across 23 temporary housing sites, and projects its shelters will rack up $94 million<\/a> in maintenance and operating costs in the upcoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n \u201cBy leveraging external funding tied to federal housing voucher programs, the city maximizes non\u2011city revenue sources, mitigates fiscal exposure and strengthens the financial foundation for ongoing service delivery,\u201d Housing Director Erik Soliv\u00e1n wrote in a memo<\/a>.<\/p>\n Homeless advocate Gail Osmer said while this sounds like a good deal, existing Arena Hotel residents will have no place to go.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople in (homeless encampments) need housing. To take away more opportunities like at the Arena, where are they going to go?\u201d Osmer told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n San Jose Housing Department representatives did not respond to questions about what will happen to existing hotel residents. With the city clearing its last large homeless encampment<\/a> known as \u201cthe Jungle\u201d and moving more than 100 residents into the remaining available shelter beds, any others who want housing will be placed on a shelter waitlist.<\/p>\n The city doesn\u2019t have enough shelter beds for those who need it. San Jose has 6,503 homeless residents<\/a>. About 60% of that population \u2014 3,959 people \u2014 is unsheltered, and 2,544 are sheltered, according to a point-in-time count conducted last January. Since the count, the city has added more than 1,000 beds<\/a> across a dozen new or expanded temporary housing sites.<\/p>\n The conversion of the Arena Hotel into a shelter was a $46-million project funded through Measure E<\/a> \u2014 a property tax approved by San Jose voters in 2020 \u2014 and California\u2019s Project Homekey<\/a>. The long-term plan calls for knocking down the building to construct up to 200 permanent affordable apartments.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n