California launched Project Homekey after the pandemic to quickly create new housing and get homeless people off the streets. Over the last few years the state has spent $3.8 billion converting existing properties such as old hotels and apartment buildings into housing that could be built fast and at a lower cost than ground-up construction. But the program has had mixed results according to a CalMatters investigation that found that about half of the development projects in the program either came in late, went over budget or were never built. We’ll talk about how well Project Homekey is working, and what we can learn from its successes and failures.
Guests:
Marisa Kendall, homelessness reporter, CalMatters
Ryan Finnigan, associate research director focused on homelessness in California, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley
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